What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a
disease that occurs when your body doesn’t make or use the hormone insulin
properly. It causes too much blood glucose (sugar) to build up in the blood.
There are 2 main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when your body
doesn’t produce any insulin. It is sometimes called juvenile diabetes because
it is usually discovered in children and teenagers, but it may appear in
adults, too. Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough
insulin or doesn’t use the insulin as it should. In the past, doctors thought
that only adults were at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, an
increasing number of children in the United States are now being diagnosed with
the disease. Doctors think this increase is mostly because more children are
overweight or obese and are less physically active.
Symptoms of diabetes
Symptoms vary from
person to person. The early stages of diabetes have very few symptoms. You may
not know you have the disease. But damage may already be happening to your eyes,
your kidneys, and your cardiovascular system.
Common symptoms
include:
- Extreme
hunger.
- Extreme
thirst.
- Frequent
urination.
- Unexplained
weight loss.
- Fatigue
or drowsiness.
- Blurry
vision.
- Slow-healing
wounds, sores, or bruises.
- Dry,
itchy skin.
- Tingling
or numbness in the hands or feet.
- Frequent
or recurring skin, gum, bladder, or vaginal
Diabetes treatment
Although diabetes
can’t be cured, you can still live a long and healthy life. The single most
important thing you can do is control your blood sugar level. You can do this
by eating right, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, and, if needed,
taking oral medicines or insulin.
