By Fred Doc Nwaozor
On November
14, the world over commemorated the 2018 World Diabetes Day. The day, which is
an annual and international commemoration, was instituted in the year 1991 by
the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in collaboration with the World
Health Organization (WHO) to help in raising public awareness on the dangers
and control of diabetes.
The day became an official United Nations (UN) Day in 2007 through the
passage of the UN resolution. The day was chosen in honour of the birthday of
Frederick Banting who along with Charles Best first conceived the idea which
led to the discovery of insulin in 1921. The theme of this year’s anniversary
is ‘The family and Diabetes’.
Diabetes is a lifelong medical
condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high. It’s
often caused by the insufficiency or lack of the hormone known as insulin,
which is produced by the pancreas – a gland found behind the stomach. The
amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by the aforementioned hormone.
When food is digested and enters the bloodstream, insulin moves glucose
out of the blood and into the cells where it’s broken down to produce the
required energy. So, if one is diagnosed with diabetes, it implies that his/her
body is unable to break down glucose into energy, because there’s either not
enough insulin to move the glucose or the insulin being produced doesn’t work
properly.
There are two main types of
diabetes namely: Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. The former is usually
more delicate than the latter which is far more common. In Type 1 diabetes, the
body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. As no
insulin is produced, the victim’s glucose level increases, which can seriously
damage his body’s organs.
Type 1 diabetes is often regarded as Insulin-dependent diabetes. It’s
equally sometimes recognized as Juvenile diabetes or Early-onset diabetes,
because it mostly develops before the age of forty or usually during the
teenage years. If one is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, he would need insulin
injections for the rest of his life. He would also need to pay very close
attention to certain aspects of his lifestyle and health, to ensure that his
blood glucose levels stay balanced at all times.
Type 2 diabetes takes place when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin
or it cells don’t react to insulin. This type of diabetes is generally known as
Insulin-resistant diabetes. Since Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition,
the patient may eventually need medication mainly in the form of tablets. Type
2 diabetes is in most cases associated with obesity. Obesity-related diabetes
is sometimes referred to as ‘maturity-onset’ diabetes owing to the fact that it
is more common in older people.
During pregnancy, some women possess high levels of blood glucose, which
makes their body unable to produce enough insulin to absorb it all. Such
condition is known as gestational diabetes, and it affects up to 18 in 100
women during pregnancy. Pregnancy can as well make existing Type 1 diabetes
worse.
Gestational diabetes can increase the risk of health problems developing
in an unborn baby, therefore it’s very necessary for a pregnant woman to keep
her blood glucose levels under control. It often develops during the second
trimester of pregnancy and disappears after the baby is born. Women who suffer
from gestational diabetes are at an increased risk of developing Type 2
diabetes later in life.
The general symptoms of diabetes,
which usually take place simultaneously, include: feeling very thirsty;
urinating more frequently than usual, particularly at night; feeling very
tired; weight loss and loss of muscle bulk; cuts or wounds that heal slowly;
blurred vision, caused by the lens of the eye becoming dry; and, itching around
the private parts or frequent episodes of thrush.
Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days, whilst many
people may have Type 2 diabetes for years without realizing it because the
early symptoms tend to be friendly.
Survey shows that about 347
million people worldwide are presently suffering from diabetes. Worse still,
almost half of the carriers do not know they have the disease. Many more people
globally have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to
be diagnosed as having diabetes. This is referred to as pre-diabetes.
If your blood sugar level is above the normal range, your risk of
developing full-blown diabetes is increased. Thus, it’s absolutely very
important for diabetes to be diagnosed as early as possible because it would
get progressively worse if left untreated.
In general, diabetes carriers are
advised to eat healthily, drink enough water, participate in constant exercise,
consistently take their routine drugs as well as carry out regular blood tests,
in order to ensure that their blood glucose levels remain balanced. Among all,
they are advised to maintain a very cordial relationship with their health
experts.
As the global community marks the 27th edition of the World
Diabetes Day, let’s endeavour to live a life that would exonerate us from
contracting this dreaded disease that has claimed millions of souls.
We can achieve this by ensuring that we consume balance diets, or by
staying away from constant intake of starchy or sugary foods without
supplementing them with other required classes of foods.
It has no cure but it can be prevented, or duly controlled if
contracted. Think about it!
Comrade Nwaozor, a policy analyst & rights activist,
writes via frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador
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