Dealing with Complications of Diabetes

By: Aldene Fredenburg
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:18:46
Print this article | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

Both Type I, or juvenile, diabetes, and type II, or insulin-resistant, diabetes have a plethora of complications. Even though the two types of diabetes have different causes and somewhat different biological effects, both types can cause problems ranging from heart disease, serious eye problems such as diabetic retinopathy, and susceptibility to infections, circulation problems, gangrene, and strokes.

The most important way to avoid or minimize complications is to keep one’s blood sugar carefully regulated. For some type II diabetics this may be able to be accomplished with diet alone, while others may need a combination of diet and an oral medication. For type I diabetics, a carefully restricted diet must be augmented by regular insulin injections. In addition to merely monitoring blood sugar and tracking food, making sensible food choices can help considerably. Eating a piece of raw fruit instead of drinking fruit juice and choosing whole grains over refined pastas and breads will provide valuable nutrients while having a less dramatic impact on blood sugar.

Beyond diet and medication, other things can be done to minimize problems. Caring immediately for any scratches, wounds, or other skin problems is important, as is protecting oneself from injury to the skin and to the extremities in the first place. For people susceptible to skin problems, specially created diabetic socks provide a supportive fit while helping keep the feet dry to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and fungus. Avoiding stress and getting enough sleep also helps the body cope with the disease.

Of course, proper medical care is also important. Like many serious chronic diseases, diabetes requires regular medical appointments with an endocrinologist. It’s also important to communicate with the doctor about acute illnesses that crop up, including colds, the flu, and other common infectious diseases. A simple cold can make a non-diabetic individual miserable for a week; a diabetic, on the other hand, can have his or her blood sugar levels thrown off wildly, and need serious adjustment.

The bottom line for diabetics: eat right, monitor your blood sugar and medication levels carefully, care for all skin problems, get enough sleep, and most importantly, don’t go it alone. Find a good doctor, follow his or her recommendations, and then follow up frequently. Diabetes is a serious illness with potentially serious complications, but being on top of it can mean avoiding many, if not all, of the problems that can crop up.

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire. She has written numerous articles for local and regional newspapers and for a number of Internet websites, including Tips and Topics. She expresses her opinions periodically on her blog, http://beyondagendas.blogspot.com

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Diabetes category

  • Diabetes - By: Karl Loren
    The prevalence of diabetes in adults once thought to be primarily a disease of middle age or older, jumped nearly 70% among people in their 30s in the last decade, a report says. Overall, diabetes increased 33% from 1990 to 1998, U.S. health officials say.
  • The Symptoms of Diabetes - By: Y. avicenna
    Diagnosing diabetes symptoms can be difficult in identifying at first, as manifestation of the disease is gradual and seems so harmless. Sometimes, because the symptoms of diabetes can also be common to other illnesses, the real illness may be overlooked. Diabetes symptoms may vary, the list may go on and on but not everybody (diabetes patients) has them. There are even some cases that no symptoms may show on some patients.
  • When you ignore diabetes: feet and legs - By: Tom YC
    The danger of diabetes is that without proper treatment and control, there is a high probability of severe damage to the body that may result in the amputation of a limb. This article looks at diabetes effect on the legs and feet.
  • Diabetes: what you should know (will save you) - By: Tom YC
    Quite often those who have diabetes do not know it until they have a medical check-up. It is a silent disease as diabetes symptoms are quite difficult to detect in its early stage. It is important to be educated about the dangers of diabetes as this disease is now amongst the top ten killers in the world.
  • Diabetes Diet Suggestions - By: Gregg Camp
    A problem that faces many diabetics is having a rich and varied diet without causing huge fluctuations is their glucose levels. You can find plenty of advice on the internet and from the doctors that you see close to your Capitola real estate. Sometimes it can all be very confusing. Read the article to find some easy to understand advice and diet tips.
  • How to Naturally Have Healthy Blood Sugar Levels - By: Gerhard van Staden
    How to naturally stabilize your blood glucose concentration to healthy levels and keep it there. Learn how to have a healthy lifestyle and not carry the burden of coping with Diabetes.
  • An Introduction To The Two Most Common Forms Of Diabetes - By: Donald Saunders
    Diabetes affects many millions of individuals today and yet it is not always fully understood. In this brief article therefore we look at the facts behind two of the commonest types of this condition.
  • How I Reversed My Type Two Diabetes - By: Thomas Nelson
    Conditions common to all diabetics cause and promote serious damage due to diabetes. They are treatable without pharmaceuticals. All diabetics need to know what they are and how to reverse them. www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com is an extensive compilation of research that every diabetic should know about his/her disease.
  • How Steaming Camel Dung Contributed to Reversing Diabetes - By: Thomas Nelson
    Conditions common to all diabetics cause and promote serious damage due to diabetes. They are treatable without pharmaceuticals. All diabetics need to know what they are and how to reverse them. www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com is an extensive compilation of research that every diabetic should know about his/her disease.
  • What Diabetics Need to Know About Their Doctor - By: Thomas Nelson
    Conditions common to all diabetics cause and promote serious damage due to diabetes. They are treatable without pharmaceuticals. All diabetics need to know what they are and how to reverse them. www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com is an extensive compilation of research that every diabetic should know about his/her disease.