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What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition that develops when your blood glucose (also known as blood sugar) levels are too high. Blood glucose, which originates from the food you eat, is your major source of energy. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, aids glucose absorption into cells for energy production. Sometimes your body doesn’t produce enough — or any — insulin, or it doesn’t use it effectively. 

Glucose remains in your bloodstream and does not reach your cells as a result.
Diabetes is often referred to as “borderline diabetes” or “a touch of sugar.” These phrases imply that someone does not have diabetes or has a milder form of the disease. Nevertheless, every case should be taken with the same level of seriousness.

What is Prediabetes

Prediabetes is defined as having blood glucose (commonly known as blood sugar) levels that are greater than usual. Diabetes is diagnosed when your blood glucose levels reach a specific threshold. This is a condition that develops when your body does not properly produce or utilize the hormone insulin.

It produces an excessive buildup of glucose in the blood. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can be detrimental to your health.

The good news is that prediabetes need not become full-blown diabetes. With required lifestyle intervention and physical activities, it can be delayed or even prevented from advancing to type II diabetes.

Types of Diabetes

Some of the most common types of diabetes are:
It is a type of diabetes in which your body does not produce insulin. Your immune system assaults and kills the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas. It is most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults, although it can strike anybody at any age. To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day.
Your body does not manufacture or utilize insulin well if you have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can strike at any age, including infancy. This kind of diabetes, on the other hand, is more common in middle-aged and older persons.
During pregnancy, some women acquire gestational diabetes. This form of diabetes usually goes away once the baby is born. If you’ve experienced gestational diabetes, though, you’re more likely to acquire type 2 diabetes later in life.

Early Detection of Diabetes

Early detection of pre-diabetes is critical so that patients are aware of their condition and may take action before it worsens, avoiding significant consequences that might reduce the quality of life. Pre-diabetes is a condition in which a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes may quickly worsen if left untreated, and pre-diabetic people will eventually acquire type 2 diabetes.

Prevention of Diabetes

Pre-diabetes is a risk factor for the development of microvascular and macrovascular illnesses, and it is still a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes in the future, even though the progression might take several years. The progression of pre-diabetes can be slowed or even avoided by identifying people with the condition early and starting lifestyle changes.
Intensive lifestyle modification programs (diet, exercise, and physical activity) decrease the prevalence of diabetes in persons who are diagnosed early on in their lives, with collateral benefits on cardiovascular risk factors.

Causes of Diabetes

Modifiable Risk Factors :
  • Obesity
  • Physical Inactivity
  • Smoking & Alcohol Consumption
  • Stressful Lifestyle
  • Inadequate Sleep
  • Blood Pressure and Cholesterol

Non-modifiable Risk Factors:

  • Family History – If you have a blood family who has diabetes, your chances of getting it are substantially higher.
  • Race or ethnic background – You have a higher risk of having diabetes if you are African-American, Asian-American, Latino/Hispanic-American, Native American, or of Pacific-Islander ancestry.
  • Age – The older you become, the more likely you are to develop prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is most common in middle-aged individuals, especially after the age of 40.
  • Gestational Diabetes – If you had diabetes while pregnant, you’re more likely to have diabetes later in life.

Signs & Symptoms of Diabetes

  • Frequent Urination (Polyuria)
  • Excessive Thirst (Polydipsia)
  • Extreme Hunger (Polyphagia)
  • Increased Fatigue
  • Unexplained Weight Loss
  • Always Tired

Diabetes Care during COVID-19

COVID-19 is more likely to cause significant problems in those who have diabetes. When infected with any virus, persons with diabetes are more prone to experience more severe symptoms and consequences.

If you have well-controlled diabetes, your chances of being severely unwell from COVID-19 are likely to be decreased. In addition to diabetes, having heart disease or other problems may increase your risk of becoming very unwell with COVID-19 or other viral infections, because having more than one condition makes it more difficult for your body to fight the infection.

In patients with diabetes, viral infections can cause inflammation or internal swelling. This can also be caused by blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, and the resulting inflammation can lead to more serious problems