Posts Tagged ‘sores’

8 Early Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes

August 13th, 2009 Admin

Type 2 Diabetes SymptomsEarly Type 2 Diabetes symptoms are almost the same as Type 1. However, the major difference is that symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes typically develop rapidly over a few days or weeks while Type 2 Diabetes symptoms may take a few months or years to develop.

According to research, as many as 33 percent of the people who have the disease are not yet diagnosed.

As the symptoms for Type II Diabetes take longer time to develop and are frequently reasonably mild before it is diagnosed, paying attention to early diabetic or pre-diabetes signs gives you a fighting chance of preventing diabetes altogether.

If two or more of the 8 pre-diabetes symptoms are noticed, you should consider consulting a doctor and having a checkup.

1. Excessive Thirst. You find you are excessively thirsty throughout the day, not just hot weather or after extreme exercise workout.

2. Dry Mouth. You seem to constantly have a dry mouth even if you’ve just had a drink.

3. Frequent Urination. You seem to urinate very frequently.

4. Unexpected Weight Loss or Gain. You have unexpected weight loss or gain in spite of constantly feeling hunger and eating well.

5. Increased Fatigue. You feel lethargic. You always feel as if you’ve got no energy; you are weak and tired all the time.

6. Blurred Vision. You seem to have blurred vision. Be careful, untreated eye problems caused through diabetes can lead to blindness.

You should have regular eye checks, especially as you get older because your eyes can be the early warning signal for many diseases.

7. Slow Healing of Wounds. The cuts, sores or bruises on your feet seem to take a long time to heal.

8. Persistent Itchiness or Yeast Infections. If you experience persistent itching or soreness in the genital area or yeast infections, it may be a sign of too much sugar in your urine.

Health complications such as stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, retinopathy, leg amputation and peripheral neuropathy will result if your symptoms turn out to be from Type 2 Diabetes and they are ignored.

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4 Reasons Why Smoking Is Hazardous For Type 2 Diabetics

August 10th, 2009 Admin

Are you a Type 2 diabetic who is a smoker as well? Smoking is a direct cause of cancer, but do you know that if you have Type II Diabetes, smoking worsens your condition and other health problems?

Let me share with you 4 reasons why mixing Type 2 Diabetes with smoking is a very bad idea:

1. Cause Nerve Damage or Neuropathy. Your chance of getting nerve damage or neuropathy is higher if you are a smoker.

Smoking affects your blood circulation and that in turn means your nerve endings do not get the nutrients they need. If the nerve endings, especially those in your feet, fail to get the nutrients they need, your feet will start getting sores and infections.

And if the sores, foot ulcers, and bacterial infections are not taken care of properly, they will lead to serious leg and foot amputations.

2. Limit the Mobility of Your Joints. There is an increased risk – double in fact – of you getting limited joint mobility. Imagine each time you bend your body, climb up or down the stairs or lift something, your joint is painful!

3. Increase the Risk of Kidney and Heart Diseases. Being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes means that you are already faced with health complications such as stroke, kidney failure and heart disease. Smoking helps speed up your risk of developing kidney and heart diseases.

According to research, diabetics who smoke are 3-fold as likely to die of heart or cardiovascular diseases as are other people with diabetes.

4. Increase Your Blood Sugar Levels. Smoking makes controlling your diabetes condition even harder because of the dramatic fluctuation of blood glucose levels. This, in turn, leads to other health problems such as stroke, kidney failure, heart disease, liver damage and the amputation of legs.

In short, smoking has a seriously detrimental effect on the ABC’s of diabetes management:

A1C – the measurement of your blood glucose over a 3-month period
B – your blood pressure, which should be below 130/80
C – your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol levels include LDL, HDL and triglycerides. Your LDL should be below 100. HDL levels should be above 40 for men and above 50 for women. Tryglycerides should be below 150.

Now you see the reality of the danger of smoking and why as a Type 2 diabetic you should quit smoking, approach your health care provider as soon as possible for information on quitting smoking.

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7 Simple Type 2 Diabetes Foot Care Tips

August 7th, 2009 Admin

Type 2 Diabetes Foot CareIf you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, it’s important for you to take good care of your feet to avoid the risk of developing sores and infections, in the worst scenario, lead to leg amputations.

It happened to my mother-in-law more than 15 years ago. Due to the family members’ lacking in diabetes foot care knowledge and ignoring the importance of avoiding foot wounds and injuries, my mother-in-law’s foot suffered from bacterial infection and had to have it amputated.

So, reduce your risk of bacterial infection or leg amputation by implementing these 7 simple Type II Diabetes foot care tips

1. Inspect Your Feet Daily. Check your feet daily or have a family member help you check for sores, cuts, bruises, changes to the toenails and other conditions, especially if you have low sensitivity or no feeling in your feet.

Sores, cuts and grazes could go unnoticed and you could develop problems leading to amputations.

Pain, redness or swelling around the toenails could mean an ingrown toenail, the leading cause of amputations in diabetics.

2. Wear Socks and Shoes. As a diabetic, it’s important not to go around barefoot, even indoors. Treading on something or stubbing your toes and cutting yourself brings the risk for infections and amputations easily as the healing process for a diabetic is slow.

3. Watch Out If You Have Corns or Calluses. Consult your chiropodist or podiatrist for the best care of corns, calluses, in-grown toe nails and other foot problems.

4. Wash Your Feet in Warm, NOT Hot Water. And don’t soak your feet even if you’ve been standing all day because it could dry your skin and form cracks or sores.

5. Dry Your Feet Thoroughly, Especially Between Your Toes. These are natural moisture traps – leaving them damp or wet could create all sorts of problems.

6. Exercise Your Legs and Feet Regularly. Even when sitting you can rotate your ankles; wiggle your toes or move your legs up and down. All these keep your blood circulation flowing to minimize the risk of foot problems.

7. Get Your Feet Professionally Checked. Have your feet checked at least once a year for sensitivity and signs of any problems.

You can usually arrange this when you have your annual check up for your blood pressure, cholesterol and AC1 levels, also known as blood glucose levels over a 3-month period.

Taking these 7 simple Type 2 Diabetes foot care actions will help you reduce the risk of painful foot problems or leg amputations.

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