The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines Diabetes as a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high.
Diabetes is a global health disorder that involves the abnormal metabolism of sugar (also referred to as glucose) in the body. In good health, blood sugar level ranges between 70-100mg/dl for a person who has not eaten for 8 hours. The normal range after 2 hours of eating is above 100mg/dl but below 140mg/dl. In the U.S alone, the disease's prevalence is about 9.3% of the population or almost 30 million Americans.
The 2 main types are
Sugar control in the body involves complex processes in the pancreas, the liver, muscles and even blood cells. The main role in all these is played by insulin that is produced in the pancreas. For diabetes symptoms to occur there are two possible causes:
These depend on the patient's state and level of blood sugar. Symptoms also depend on how well the diabetes has been managed and whether complications have set-in. Acute symptoms include:
If the blood sugars are very high, symptoms of high ketones in the body are present. The most characteristic of this is the ketone breath. Longstanding high blood sugar states can lead to complications such as:
Successful diabetes management involves a combination of
Effective management of diabetes needs reliable diagnostic and treatment supplies. There is a wide range of these items. Common ones include:
The 2 main methods used include use of special solutions that determine and confirm presence and level of blood sugar. The solutions are used in conjunction with special metered strips. There are many manufacturers of these medical supplies with various brands but they all serve the same purpose. Example Glucose Monitoring Supplies.
The other type of blood sugar testing involves a non-invasive use of special strips that are dipped in urine. They change color if there is sugar in urine and depending on the intensity of the change they give a rough estimate of its concentration. Other diabetes supplies include:
Effective management of diabetes involves getting supplies from reliable and reputable sources
Some diabetic durable medical equipment is covered by Medicare and Tricare, such as glucose monitors and insulin pumps.