When the blood sugar gets out of control What diabetics need to know

Blood sugar out of control - Diabetics need to know that now

Diabetes has long since become a common disease in many countries. In Germany alone, over six million people suffer from the metabolic disorder. A healthy lifestyle can often prevent or at least delay the disease.

Over six million diabetics in Germany
According to the German Diabetes Association more than six million people in this country suffer from diabetes. In other countries, the metabolic disorder has long since become a common disease. Experts also expect a high number of unreported cases. If diabetes is left untreated, blood vessels and organs such as the kidneys, the heart or the eyes can be damaged. In the worst case, this leads to blindness or kidney failure. If the diagnosis is diabetes, those affected are usually shocked at first. Her everyday life then changes decisively. However, a healthy lifestyle can prevent or at least delay diabetes mellitus.

Sugar levels in the blood are too high
A message from the news agency dpa explains what diabetes mellitus is: It is important to know that sugar is the energy source for the body's cells. The hormone insulin, which is produced in the pancreas, ensures that the cells are ready for sugar and transports it to the inside. In diabetics, however, the sugar levels in the blood are too high (high blood sugar). Hence the colloquial term "diabetes". The Vice President of the German Diabetes Society, Professor Dirk Müller-Wieland explained in the agency report that the metabolism is disturbed. The pancreas produces too little or no insulin.

Even children get diabetes
Diabetes is differentiated into Type 1 and Type 2. In Type 1, the body produces virtually zero insulin. "Frequently affected sufferers as a child or adolescent," said Felix Gundling, senior physician at the Munich-Bogenhausen Hospital. In recent years, health experts have increasingly warned against the increase in childhood diabetes. The cause of the disease is a disorder of the body's immune system. In type 2, obesity or obesity and physical inactivity contribute to insulin not being fully effective in the cell membranes. Stress is also a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The sugar does not reach the cells, the blood sugar levels are thus increased. "The vast majority of patients with diabetes suffer from type 2," says Müller-Wieland.

How diabetes manifests itself
Typical signs of Type 1 are often heavy urination and a permanent feeling of drowsiness. "Those affected often complain that they are constantly tired and beaten off," explained the pharmacist Werner Heuking. In contrast, type 2 in many cases goes unnoticed for years. "Increased blood glucose levels do not cause any pain," says Müller-Wieland. Compared to type 1 diabetes, the characteristic symptoms of type 2 diabetes, such as thirst or urinary tract dysfunction, such as increased urine output (polyuria), appear later.

Treatment of patients
Patients with type 1 diabetes regularly need to inject themselves with insulin. "Blood sugar needs to be determined several times a day," explained Müller-Wieland. When it comes to nutrition, they also have to calculate exactly their bread units and thus control their insulin requirements. How important that is, several experts emphasized recently at a press conference. You have pointed out that the risks of low blood sugar are mostly underestimated. Although the problem of high blood sugar levels in diabetics is well known, hypoglycemia (hypoglycaemia) is the more common and dangerous complication of diabetes mellitus. In patients with type 2 diabetes, weight loss, physical activity, and a fundamental dietary change are first tried over several months to regulate blood sugar. If this does not succeed, they will be given additional medication and may also be prescribed insulin.

New methods are being researched
In the future, the treatment methods could potentially be extended. Only recently did Austrian scientists report that for the first time they were able to achieve success with a newly developed artificial pancreas, which in the future would spare patients with type 1 diabetes the annoying procedure of measuring and calculating the blood sugar level and preventing incorrect insulin administration. In addition, German researchers have recently announced that a study on the vaccine against type 1 diabetes will go into the next round.

Prevent disease through a healthy lifestyle
As the dpa reports, there are also special training courses for diabetics, so-called diabetic courses. These are offered by general practitioners, but also by specialized practices or diabetes ambulances in hospitals. It is about topics such as balanced diet, blood sugar diet or the proper use of insulin pens. At least for type 2 diabetes, the risk of having a healthy lifestyle can be reduced. For this you should avoid being overweight and exercise regularly. "With type 1, nothing can be done preventively," says Gundling. It is important to have check-ups and check blood glucose levels. "The sooner diabetes is diagnosed, the better for the health of the person affected," said Müller-Wieland. (Ad)