What Is Diabetes (High Blood Sugar)?
Diabetes or sugar disease (high blood sugar) is a chronic (long-term) disease that you need to be aware of.
The main sign of this disease is an increase in blood sugar (glucose) levels above normal values.
This condition occurs when the sufferer’s body is no longer able to take sugar (glucose) into the cells and use it as energy.
This condition ultimately results in the accumulation of extra sugar in the body’s bloodstream.
Uncontrolled diabetes can have serious consequences, causing damage to various organs and tissues of the body.
For example, organs such as the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. There are two main types of diabetes, namely type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
If explained, here is an explanation of both, namely:
- Type 1 diabetes. This type is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system will attack itself. In this condition, the body will not produce insulin at all.
- Type 2 diabetes. In this type of diabetes, the body does not make enough insulin or the body cells of people with type 2 diabetes will not respond normally to insulin.
Symptoms of High Blood Sugar (Diabetes)
The symptoms of this health problem will appear differently in each sufferer.
Because this condition will depend on the severity and type of diabetes that the sufferer has.
However, in general there are several symptoms that will be experienced by sufferers, both type 1 and type 2, namely:
- Increased thirst.
- Increased frequency of urination.
- Easily tired or feeling constantly tired.
- There are visual disturbances, such as blurred vision.
- The occurrence of continuous infections in the body, which commonly occur in the gums, skin, and vaginal area (in women).
- Unexplained weight loss.
- The presence of ketones in the urine (ketones are byproducts of the breakdown of muscle and fat that occur when there is not enough insulin available).
Therefore, immediately check yourself with a doctor if you experience one or more of these symptoms.
This aims to ensure that sufferers receive appropriate treatment early on so that the risk of complications from diabetes can be avoided.
Risk Factors for High Blood Sugar (Diabetes)
There are several risk factors for type 1 diabetes, including:
- Family history or hereditary factors, namely when someone will have a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes if there are family members who suffer from the same disease because it is related to certain genes.
- Geographical factors, people who live in areas far from the equator, such as Finland and Sardinia, are at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. This is due to the lack of vitamin D that can be obtained from sunlight, which ultimately triggers autoimmune diseases.
- Age factor. This disease is most often detected in children aged 4–7 years, then in children aged 10–14 years.
- Other triggering factors include consuming cow’s milk at too early an age, water containing sodium nitrate, cereals, and gluten before the age of 4 months or after 7 months, having a mother with a history of preeclampsia, and suffering from jaundice at birth.
Meanwhile, here are some risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including:
- Overweight or obesity.
- High distribution of abdominal fat.
- Inactive lifestyle and rarely doing activities or exercising.
- History of type 2 diabetes in the family.
- Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans have higher rates of disease compared to whites.
- Age over 45 years, although it is possible that it can occur before the age of 45 years.
- Prediabetes is a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.
- History of diabetes during pregnancy.
- Women with polycystic ovary syndrome, which is characterized by irregular menstruation, excessive hair growth, and obesity.
Causes of High Blood Sugar (Diabetes)
Normal blood sugar levels are less than 100 mg/dL. If blood sugar levels have reached 100-125 mg/dL, it means you have entered prediabetes status.
Meanwhile, blood sugar levels that reach 126 mg/dL and above are classified as diabetes. High blood sugar levels are known as hyperglycemia.
Basically, hyperglycemia is a condition when blood sugar levels increase or are excessive.
Meanwhile, diabetes is a disease that is mostly influenced by hyperglycemia.
The cause of high blood sugar from diabetes occurs due to disorders in the body. Because this condition makes the body unable to use blood glucose into cells.
As a result, glucose builds up in the blood. In type 1 diabetes, this disorder occurs because the immune system, which usually attacks viruses or other harmful bacteria, attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells.
As a result, the body lacks or cannot even produce insulin so that the sugar that should be converted into energy by insulin causes a buildup of sugar in the blood.
While in type 2 diabetes, the body can produce insulin normally. However, insulin cannot be used normally by the body. This condition is also known as insulin resistance.
Diagnosis of High Blood Sugar (Diabetes)
The doctor will diagnose this condition in a person by conducting a medical interview. Then, the doctor will also check the glucose levels in a blood test.
There are three types of tests that doctors can use to measure blood glucose levels, namely:
1. Fasting blood glucose test
For this test, people with diabetes need not eat or drink anything except water (fasting).
This fasting is for at least eight hours before the test. Because food can greatly affect blood sugar, this test allows the doctor to see baseline blood sugar.
2. Random blood glucose test
This examination can be done randomly by diabetics. Even when you are fasting.
3. A1c
This test, also known as HbA1C or glycated hemoglobin test, aims to show a person’s average blood glucose levels over the past two to three months.
4. Oral glucose tolerance test
In this test, the doctor will measure blood glucose levels after fasting overnight.
Then the diabetic will drink a sweet drink. Later, the patient’s blood glucose levels are checked at one, two and three o’clock.
In addition, the doctor will also perform blood and urine tests to distinguish whether someone has type 1 or 2 diabetes.
Later, the blood will be checked for autoantibodies (autoimmune signs that the body’s immune system is attacking itself).
Meanwhile, urine will be checked for ketones (a sign that a person’s body is burning fat as an energy supply).
Diabetes Treatment
Treatment will be adjusted to the type of diabetes you have.
Insulin therapy is one of the treatments that can be done by sufferers of this condition, both type 1 and type 2.
In fact, in fairly severe cases of type 1 diabetes, pancreas transplantation may be an option to treat damage to the pancreas.
Meanwhile, people with type 2 diabetes will be given several types of medication.
However, generally, there are several treatments that must be done to reduce the risk of diabetes, such as:
1. Implement a healthy diet
If you have diabetes, you should adjust your diet to a healthy one.
Focus on your intake of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains.
Not only that, you also need to consume fiber and reduce certain types of food, such as foods containing saturated fat, processed carbohydrates, and artificial sweeteners.
2. Do physical activity regularly
Everyone certainly needs physical activity to maintain optimal health, including people with diabetes.
Exercise is one activity that can be done to lower blood sugar levels by converting it into energy.
You can choose to do light exercise, such as walking, swimming, or cycling.
Make these activities a daily routine to help you avoid your diabetes condition getting worse.
Diabetes Medication Recommendations
Here are some recommendations for diabetes medications that you can use:
- Gliabetes 30 mg 10 Tablets. Is a drug containing Pioglitazone HCl to treat type 2 diabetes.
- Diabemed 24 Capsules. Useful for overcoming and preventing diabetes, as well as lowering the sugar level in the blood and keeping it stable.
- Inlacin 100 mg 5 Strips (6 Capsules/Strip) – Save on Bulk Prices. Contains a combination of Lagestroemiaspeciosa and Cinnamomum burmannii to help lower blood glucose levels.
- Pioglitazone HCl 30 mg 3 Strips (10 Tablets/Strip) – Routine Medication. It is a tablet medication that is useful in the therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Amaryl M 1 mg/250 mg 3 Strips (10 Tablets/Strip) – Routine Medication. Contains a combination of Metformin and Glimepiride which is useful for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Diabetes Prevention
Although risk factors such as family history and race cannot be changed, there are other risk factors that can be prevented early through implementing a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some healthy lifestyle steps that you can take to prevent this disease, including:
- Maintain ideal body weight by consuming low-fat foods.
- Eat high-fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables.
- Reduce consumption of sweet foods and drinks.
- Exercise regularly and do lots of physical activity.
- Reduce the amount of time spent sitting still for too long, such as when watching television.
- Avoid or quit smoking.
Diabetes Complications
Complications from this disease will develop gradually. The longer a person has it and the more uncontrolled the disease is, the higher the risk of complications.
Ultimately, complications can be disabling or even life-threatening.
The following are some possible general complications of diabetes, namely:
- Cardiovascular disease. Diabetes can increase the risk of various problems with the cardiovascular system. These include coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke, and narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
- Eye damage (retinopathy). Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause complications in the form of damage to the retina of the eye,
- Nerve damage (neuropathy). Excess sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that feed nerves, especially in the feet. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward.
In addition, diabetes also has the potential to cause kidney damage, sexual dysfunction, and even miscarriage as complications.