Diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes as it is more commonly known, is a very common disease today with an estimated 6.5 million South Africans suffering from one form or another. The numbers of diabetics are also growing at a rapid rate and the disease is considered one of the most important healthcare problems facing South Africa, and indeed the world.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce enough or properly respond to insulin. Insulin is a hormone protein that you need in your body to convert sugar and other food into the energy needed for daily life. Insulin is produced in the pancreas.
As part of the Government Employees Medical Scheme's (GEMS) ongoing effort to educate our members - and future members - on a range of healthcare topics, we would like to inform you about how diabetes can affect your family and yourself and what to do about it.
There are three main types of diabetes, although by far the majority of people, between 85% and 90% of cases, suffer from what is known as type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed at a fairly young age. In this form of the disease, the human body makes little or no insulin. Most type 1 diabetics need injections of insulin every day to survive. The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is not known. Genetics, viruses, and autoimmune problems may play a role.
Type 2 diabetes makes up by far the majority of diabetes cases. It usually occurs in adulthood, but young people are increasingly being diagnosed with this disease. The pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal, often because the body does not respond well to insulin.
Diabetes South Africa says that most type 2 diabetics are over the age of 40 and are usually overweight and do not exercise. Poor diet and a lack of exercise can therefore play an important role in the development of the disease. Many people with type 2 diabetes have other medical problems associated with the illness such as high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, or obesity.
Type 2 diabetes usually takes a long time to develop and is often not diagnosed until later in life. Although most type 2 diabetics do not have to inject themselves with insulin everyday in order to stay alive as in type 1 diabetes, it can nevertheless be very dangerous. This is because high blood glucose levels in the body for long periods of time can damage parts of the body and lead to heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure, retinal damage that can lead to blindness, and other problems. Diabetics can have problems with poor wound healing, which can lead to gangrene that can even require a limb to be amputated.
The causes of type 2 diabetes are complicated and can involve a number of factors. Genetics can play a role (has anyone else in your family suffered from it?), as can environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. Older people are generally more likely to suffer from it, although it is being seen in more and more younger people too.
Gestational diabetes is high blood glucose that develops at any time during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes. This is usually a temporary illness that occurs during pregnancy and both the mother and child are at risk of developing diabetes in the future.
Symptoms of diabetes
The following are symptoms that are typical to both type 1 and 2 diabetes:
Like type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes needs to be carefully managed with your doctor. If you also have high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, as is often the case with diabetics, these should be carefully managed and controlled with your doctor.
Cutting out smoking, avoiding fatty foods and foods with high levels of sugars in them, exercising and looking after your health can go a long way to helping you treat diabetes and its associated diseases. Fat concentrated in the stomach region is known to predispose a person to diabetes type 2, so be sure to eat healthily and get that weight down.
In summary, management of the illness involves careful self-testing of blood glucose levels, education, exercise, foot care, meal planning and weight control, and medication or insulin use.
Should you be tested?
Should you get yourself tested for diabetes? If you are overweight, have already celebrated your 45th birthday and have some close relatives with this disease, then it would be wise to be tested. Having high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels or polycystic ovary syndrome should also prompt you to have this test done sooner rather than later.
Keep active
If you take care of yourself and manage the disease properly with your doctor, diabetes is a very manageable illness and should not be allowed to stop you from living an active and happy life. In fact if you manage the disease properly, you will probably be healthier than a person without diabetes who is smoking, overeating and not exercising. So be sure to start practicing that healthy lifestyle and go for a screening if you think you are at high risk of having or developing the disease. It could well save your life.
If you have any more questions on diabetes, you can phone the GEMS call centre on 0860 00 4367 or send a SMS to 083 450 4367. GEMS will assist you in every way possible to ensure your family's health and well-being.
0860 00 4367 (Call Centre) [email protected] More Contacts >