Type 2 – Diabetes

What is Type 2 - Diabetes?
Diabetes has two types:

Type 2 – Diabetes: This condition occurs in people over 40 years of age and develops gradually over time. Cells resist (or reject) the sufficient amounts of insulin the pancreas creates, and so therefore fail to be stimulated by it. This has a knock-on effect which causes the insulin generating cells in the pancreas to become exhausted and stop functioning properly.

Type 1 – Diabetes: Although it is much less common than Type 2 – Diabetes, Type 1 – Diabetes still affects over 2 million people in the UK alone.

We get glucose (sugar) from food. It gives us energy and helps our cells to function properly. Type 1 – Diabetes develops when there is an excessive amount of glucose in the blood (and your body stops making insulin which keeps your blood glucose levels under control). Too much glucose can damage your blood cells over time, make you feel ill, and lead to extremely serious medical problems.

Type 1 – Diabetes generally occurs in children or young adults.

This article will focus upon Type 2 – Diabetes and seek to explain the impact it has on people’s lives.

Symptoms
Symptoms of Type 2 - Diabetes include:

A persistent raging thirst

Continually needing to go to the toilet to pass urine

Passing urine in unusually large amounts

Loss of appetite & weight loss

Tiredness

Blurred vision

Causes
Risk factors of developing Type 2 – Diabetes:

Increasing age

Living a sedentary lifestyle combined with a high-sugar diet

Obesity

Smoking

Excessive alcohol consumption

Certain medication

Pregnancy (in rare cases)

Ethnicity – if you are of South Asian, African Caribbean or Hispanic origin.

Note: Some people have a genetic predisposition to developing Type 2 – Diabetes. That is, they have a family history of it and the propensity to developing it is passed down.

Diagnosis
If you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms and think that you may be diabetic, arrange to make an appointment with your GP. After taking your medical history, they will ask you some questions about your symptoms and then make a confirmed diagnosis by requesting a urine sample from you. You will then be referred to a specialist diabetes care team.

Treatment
Despite worldwide medical research into Type 2 – Diabetes, as yet the condition cannot be cured.

Try to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet which is low in fat, high in fibre, and includes plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Where these measures prove insufficient in controlling your blood glucose levels, you may need to start insulin injections at regular intervals each day.

For those who find injections intolerable, insulin tablets can be prescribed.

How Chemist Online can help
Through this website we have a range of products available to buy which can help you to monitor your blood glucose levels.


www.chemistonline.co.uk

Advice & Support
Tel: 0845 120 2960
Website: www.diabetes.org.uk

Hypoglycaemia Support Foundation
Website: www.hypoglycaemia.org


This information and advice is not intended to replace the advice of your GP or chemist. Chemist Online is also not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based upon the content of the Chemist Online website. Chemist Online is also not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.

By : Joe Swails | Category : Health | Date : December,31,1969