Some clarifications
    
This article is in response to several questions from some individuals pertaining certain issues about diabetes.

Questions they ask include:
1.    Is diabetes dangerous? Yes and no. Yes if not diagnosed soon enough and treated.
No! If diagnosed soon enough and treated. Diabetes as a disease in itself is not dangerous. It becomes dangerous only when its diagnosis is delayed and if not treated.

2.    Is diabetes curable? No! As at now there is no recorded cure for diabetes. It can however be treated with insulin injections generally for type one patients and diabetes pills for type two diabetes patients. A combination of your medication, the right food recommended and exercise, you can live a normal life up to as long as age 80 years.

3.    What are the complications associated with diabetes? Lack of proper blood glucose control and generally, lack of good management of your diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney problems, impotence in the case of males, amputation, coma resulting from hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose level) and some times hyperglycaemia (high blood glucose level).

4.    Is diabetes contagious? Fortunately no. Diabetes is a non-communicable disease and cannot be transferred from one person to another. So there is nothing absolutely to fear. It is very safe to eat, drink from the same cup and even share the same bed with somebody with diabetes. Diabetes is however hereditary and can move from generation to generation of a family. So if you belong to a family with diabetic history, it is advisable that you do a blood glucose test often to know your status, watch what you eat and exercise regularly.

Since education states that repetition is a necessary learning skill, it is prudent that we remind our readers about what diabetes is, how it develops, the main types and the treatment. Diabetes is a disorder in which the level of the sugar in the blood tends to be higher than it should be.

Sugars and starches are broken down thorough the process of digestion into a simple sugar called glucose, the energy giving fuel of the body. In order to burn this fuel the body requires insulin. This substance is secreted into the blood stream by the pancreas, a gland which lies in the upper part of the abdomen. In diabetes, the amount of insulin produced is insufficient to burn up the glucose. Characteristically, the urine which is then passed has a high sugar content.

There are two main types of diabetes. In the first type, the patient is usually under the age of 45 years when the disease appears, and he/she may be slightly over weight. The onset is relatively sudden, often within the course of a few days. The patient begins to lose weight rapidly and feels generally unwell. He/she becomes very thirsty and passes large quantities of urine. If the patient does not seek treatment immediately, he or she may, within one or two days, pass into diabetic coma which can prove fatal.

Under treatment, this type of diabetes patient generally classified as type 1 will require daily injections of insulin for the rest of his or her life. This is combined with a strict diet. One which contains the least or no sugar at all and certain limited quantities of starchy foods like bread and potatoes. However, if the prescribed amount of these carbohydrates is not received, a type one diabetes patient’s blood sugar will be so lowered by the insulin injection that he/she will suddenly become confused and then unconscious.

These insulin reactions or hypoglycaemic attacks, are extremely common, in fact much more common than diabetic coma (in which the blood sugar is too high, rather than too low). By implication this means that hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) is much more likely to send a patient to coma than hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels). In the event of hypoglycaemic attack, a patient who is still in the confused stage should be given some sugar; if he/she is unconscious, he/she should be taken to hospital immediately, where he/she will be given glucose into a vein.

The other main group of diabetes patients, type 2, do not as a rule, require insulin injections. This category of patient is usually over 40 – 45 years old at the onset of the disease, which is much more gradual. Frequently, he/she is very overweight. Strict dieting is again necessary, often combined with tablets which lower the blood sugar. There is usually little risk of diabetic coma in patients with type 2 diabetes.

For several hundred years diabetes has been a recognized condition and known to be associated with the passing of large quantities of sugary urine. In conclusion it should be noted that recent years have seen a change in trend in both the development and treatment of diabetes. For example people between ages 30 –35 years who generally would have developed type one diabetes now develop type 2 diabetes, vice versa.

In the same vein whereas some time ago type 1 diabetes was almost exclusively treated with insulin injection, now there are type 2 patients being treated with insulin injection. In some cases apatient with type 1 or 2 is treated with both insulin and tablets.

In the event that you may need further explanation about issues discussed in this article, note them down and listen to the health talk show on West coast radio which comes on Fridays so that Dr. Alieu Gaye can deal with your concerns.