Diabetes mellitus or commonly known as diabetes is a group of metabolic sicknesses where a person has high blood sugar due to inadequate production of insulin or because of poor response to insulin by the body. Diabetes patients experience frequent urination, increased thirst, and hunger (Forth & Jude, 2011). There are three types of diabetes namely; diabetes type one in which the body do not produce insulin. Diabetes type two where the body fails to produce sufficient insulin for normal functioning or body cells fail to react to the produced insulin. The third type is gestational diabetes, and it is common to pregnant women in whom the body may have sufficient glucose in the blood, but there is no enough insulin to move the glucose around the cells resulting in high glucose levels. Diabetic people need close monitoring by health workers to control the situation and prevent it from becoming worse.
Symptoms of diabetes
• Unusual urination particularly at night
• Increased thirst
• Extreme tiredness
• Weight loss that cannot be explained
• Slow healing of wounds and cuts
• Thrush and itching in the vagina or penis areas
• Blurred vision due to the dry eye lens
Diagnostic procedures
Diabetes can be diagnosed in various ways, but the process needs to be repeated to make a concrete decision. The test must be done in a laboratory by a doctor, and if glucose level is noted to be very high or there are classic signs of high blood glucose after the first test, there may be no need for the second test (Wiens & Grunau, 2011).
• A1C checks the average glucose in the blood for past three months. If the A1C is less than 5.7% the person is healthy, 5.7% to 6.4% it is pre-diabetes, and 6.5% and above there is diabetes.
• The fasting blood plasma glucose checks the fasting levels of blood glucose. A healthy person, the FPG is less than 100mg/dl, pre-diabetes is between 100 and 125mg/dl, and diabetes is above 126mg/dl.
• Oral blood glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is a test done within two hours to check the levels of blood glucose after taking a sweet beverage. For a typical person results are less than 140mg/dl, pre-diabetes is between 140 and 199mg/dl, and diabetes is over 200mg/dl.
• Random or casual blood plasma glucose examination is a check done randomly during the day when there are signs of severe diabetes. If blood glucose is over 200mg/dl, diabetes is available.
Treatment of Diabetes
Treatment may be different depending on the affected person hence people need specialized medical therapies and healthy lifestyles (Bloomgarden, 2008). Treatment can be through;
• Oral health hygiene by regular brushing of teeth
• Special treatment and care for people in high populated areas
• Regular clinic check-ups to watch the blood sugar levels
• Medication, healthy diets, and daily exercises
Complications of Diabetes
• High chances of developing other health problems and infections on the eyes, teeth, nerves, blood vessels, kidneys (Forth & Jude, 2011).
• Pregnancy complications such as organ damage to the fetus
Healthcare Units that Treat the Disease
• Albemarle Regional Health Services
• International diabetes federation
• Children’s Hospital of the king’s daughters
• Eastern Virginia Medical School Division of Maternal Fatal Medicine
• EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center
• Riverside Newport News Diabetes Services
• Riverside Williamsburg Diabetes Services
Healthcare that treat Diabetes in Hampton Road, Virginia
• Virginia Business Coalition on Health
• Sentara CarePlex Hospital
• Sentara Indian River Therapy Center
• Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
• Hampton Community Health Center
• Hampton Roads Community Health Center
References
Bloomgarden, Z. (2008). Approaches to Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care, 31(8), 1697-1703.
Forth, R., & Jude, E. (2011). Diabetes: complications, prevention and treatment. Br J Healthcare Management, 17(1), 30-35.
Wiens, M., & Grunau, B. (2011). Exposure to Alternative Healthcare Providers and Adherence to Guidelines among Patients with Diabetes. Canadian Journal Of Diabetes, 35(5), 512- 517.
