Health related information and news from around the world. » Diabetes http://dfley.com The blog is about health and gives useful information on health and disease. Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:20:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 UNDERSTANDING DIABETES: WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE IT? http://dfley.com/2011/02/understanding-diabetes-whether-or-not-we-have-it/ http://dfley.com/2011/02/understanding-diabetes-whether-or-not-we-have-it/#comments Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:33:41 +0000 admin http://dfley.com/?p=162 Actually, most people with a diabetic problem are discovered before the disease produces marked symptoms. Doctors in routine examinations of any type check at least the urine for excess sugar, and many times they also do screening tests on the blood to detect diabetes. In particular, if a person goes to a doctor with symptoms suggesting diabetes mellitus, or if he has any symptom that is not easily explained, tests are run to determine whether or not this disease is operative. When persons are admitted to hospitals for any reason, illness or an operation, tests for diabetes are run as a routine part of the admission laboratory work-up.
Should the disease happen not to be picked up in this manner, then the person involved may at first experience only a general feeling of ill health. He does not have the stamina that he used to have. He may have a problem with recurrent infections of any type, especially skin infections, such as boils. Women may encounter repeated bladder infections or vaginal infections. If diabetes is advanced, the urine contains large amounts of sugar, and bacteria grow best in an environment rich in sugar. This is the reason for the infection problem.
When the disease is advanced, the classical symptoms of diabetes appear. The person is very thirsty, drinking unusual quantities of fluids. He also urinates more than usual. In addition, his appetite may be markedly increased, despite the fact that he is losing weight.
These cardinal symptoms have a simple explanation. The diabetic person cannot use sugar and other foods properly. He wastes them. This explains his appetite and loss of weight. If the sugar content of the blood is too high, then sugar appears in the urine. The release of sugar by the kidneys is accompanied by a flow of excess water. This explains the increased thirst and excess urination.
This brings up a common misconception. People say, “I can’t have diabetes because I don’t have any sugar in my urine.” There is normally a certain quantity of sugar in the bloodstream. This is used to supply energy to various parts of the body. The kidneys usually do not allow any of this sugar to filter out into the urine. This would be a waste of body foodstuffs. Only when the level of sugar in the blood reaches very high levels do the kidneys allow it to spill over into the urine. A person may have diabetes mellitus and an elevated blood sugar for some time before it thus appears in the urine.
The diagnosis of the disease rests primarily upon determining whether the level of sugar in the blood is higher than normal. Certainly, if sugar appears in the urine, this will prompt blood tests to confirm whether or not this represents diabetes mellitus. The presence of sugar in the urine does not necessarily indicate diabetes. In some persons, especially pregnant women, sugar may be spilled by the kidneys without a diabetic state being present. This is due to a temporary or permanent alteration in kidney function that may be unrelated to any type of diabetic process. The most exact way to determine the status of sugar management by the body is to check the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood before eating and at various time intervals after eating ordinary foods or foods high in sugar content. If the pancreas is functioning properly and producing adequate amounts of insulin, then the sugar will rise to only certain levels, but if the insulin mechanism is defective, then the blood sugar level will become very high.
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]]> http://dfley.com/2011/02/understanding-diabetes-whether-or-not-we-have-it/feed/ 0 DIABETES IN YOUNG PEOPLE: CONTROLLING DIABETES http://dfley.com/2009/04/diabetes-in-young-people-controlling-diabetes/ http://dfley.com/2009/04/diabetes-in-young-people-controlling-diabetes/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:04:48 +0000 admin http://dfley.com/2009/04/diabetes-in-young-people-controlling-diabetes/ If the insulin or the diet was not properly adjusted, the child would probably feel sick or not grow properly. We do not want this to happen. We want to know if the diabetes is getting out of control before he feels the bad effects of this. We can do this by measuring the level of glucose in the blood.

The body needs a certain amount of glucose circulating in the blood at all times: not too much and not too little.

If there is too much (as when diabetes is not well controlled) it may lead to ill-health, but if there is too little the body – particularly the brain – may suffer from inadequate glucose energy. So by measuring the level of glucose in the blood we can check whether treatment for diabetes is just right or whether it needs adjustment.

The level of glucose in the blood of young people with diabetes on insulin treatment can vary a lot during the day, so we may need to check this at various times of day.

If levels of glucose in the blood rise too high, we may need to increase the insulin dose or perhaps check that the diet was correct. If the level of glucose in the blood is too low we may need to reduce the dose of insulin or have more food. Thus these tests help to adjust insulin and diet to keep good control of diabetes.

When a child develops an infection or other illness (such as a cold or flu) the level of glucose in the blood may rise, and we may need to increase the insulin dose for a few days while he is sick. This helps the child get over the illness quickly.

If there is too much glucose in the blood it spills out into the urine, we can test for this also. Some children prefer to test their urine rather than their blood. Urine tests are not as reliable or informative as blood tests, but they can provide a useful guide.

If we find glucose in the urine it suggests there was too much in the blood. As glucose levels in blood do rise at times, particularly after meals, it may be hard to avoid small amounts of sugar appearing in the urine from time to time.

If the urine contains no glucose (no glucose has spilled out into the urine, so the blood glucose levels were not too high) this may be a sign of really good control, but we need to be on the lookout for hypos.

The child with diabetes is asked to do things in controlling his diabetes that may seem boring or irritating. He should remember however that the treatment of diet and insulin and the tests and regular check-ups are designed, not only to keep him feeling well from day to day, but to help him grow normally, and to help protect his health when he grows up.

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