SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES

Mostly diabetes creeps in silently and one comes to know of it generally during a routine blood sugar test done as a part of normal medical check up. Sometimes it is also detected during treatment of other illness or before surgery. However following are some of the one or more of the common symptoms which one feels if he is suffering from diabetes:

1. Increased appetite or hunger.
2. Increased thrust or dry mouth.
3. Increased urination.
4. Getting fatigue or getting exhausted quickly.
5. Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.
6. Infections under the folds.
7. Dry or itchy skin.
8. Poor healing of cuts and scrapes.
9. Blurred vision.Sudden weight loss or obesity

Hence if you have any one or more of the above symptoms, make sure to check your blood glucose levels immediately specially if you are above 40 yrs of age, have high blood pressure and you are overweight or obese.

EFFECTS OF DIABETES:

If diabetes is not controlled well, its effects are disastrous on every part of the body. The first sign is the slow healing of the wounds. Person may not suffer the other consequences immediately but in long term it is very dangerous. The fact is that diabetes can be controlled and one can live a normal life, only if he is not complacent. He should live a healthy lifestyle to avoid major diabetic complications in later part of life.

Continuously poorly controlled diabetes may lead to the following:
1. Eye problems leading to loss of vision.
2. Kidney diseases.
3. Foot problems.
4. Heart disease.
5. Paralysis.

TYPES OF DIABETES:

There are two major types of Diabetes.

Type I (IDDM): This is called Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus and can be treated only with insulin as the main drug. This occurs in younger age group or occurs suddenly and the level of insulin in the blood in this type is negligible. Patients are generally underweight and heredity is less significant.
Type II (NIDDM): This is called Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus and is treated with both oral drugs and insulin (especially in later part of life) in addition to proper diet and regular exercises. This usually affects people above 40 years of age. Patients are generally overweight or obese and heredity is more significant

WHAT IS DIABETES?

Energy is required by the body to carry out its normal functions. The food we eat gets converted into simple sugar (Glucose). Glucose in the blood is essential for providing this energy. If the glucose level in the blood increases due to its non utilization by the body, the situation is called Diabetes Mellitus. This happens if there is deficiency of Insulin or it is ineffective i.e. insulin insensitivity Insulin is a hormone secreted by the gland called Pancreas, situated in abdomen. Insulin helps in allowing the glucose to enter cells where glucose is converted into usable energy. Hence if the insulin is abnormal or is ineffective because of excess deposition of fat on the body cells, making the insulin insensitive, glucose does not enter the cell. Thus blood accumulates excess of glucose. This is very harmful for the cells of the various body organs specially eyes, kidneys and foot.
As we have seen, Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which body is unable to handle glucose for its energy requirements. Since insulin is essential for entry of glucose in to the cell, it can not take up glucose and then body tries to produce more glucose for its requirement and the result is, glucose keeps on rising even if there is no food intake.

PREFACE

Being a Mechanical Engineer by profession, I have acquired lot of expertise in procurement, manufacturing, erection and maintenance of mechanical systems. However, I still get flagger basted to see the mechanisms and functions of a human body and this is probably the reason why I am writing this blog today. My passion and interest in gathering information and knowledge about the ways to be adopted for a healthy living, I believe, will dissipate unless I share it with you.

In my pursuit to get this information, I have come across various aspects of many diseases, their causes and remedies. The remedy of any disease lies within our body and the body gives enough signals about it and forewarns us in many ways. But unfortunately we are not able to recognize this and continue to live our life in an unhealthy manner and discard these signals without giving much importance to them. These bad habits and a sedentary lifestyle are only responsible for the deterioration of our body.

My endeavor is to share information in a layman's language and create awareness about health topics which affect our day-to-day life and therefore, I have shortlisted some common health issues which will be of interest to almost everyone. The gamut of these topics will be from diabetes to hypertension, heart diseases, diet, exercises, yoga, body weight (obesity), healthy lifestyle etc.


I can’t claim myself to be an expert on these topics and shall be sharing information, on these aspects of life, gathered from discussions with various experts in this area, various books and articles and also from the internet. I invite all professionals from similar fields to share their knowledge and proficiency and also to correct me wherever information posted by me is doubtful in nature. Your feedback is most welcome. I would also welcome feedback from individuals in case they feel that there has been any sort of copy right infringement of the content. I can assure you that such content will be immediately removed from this site.


I hope that this blog encourages you to live a healthy life for a happy future.
Have a Healthy Life. Have a Happy Life!