Preventing Diabetes Essay

Several nationwide programs and incentives were administered in the last couple of decades to promote awareness of diabetes and hopefully help prevent millions of Americans from developing diabetes. Health Agencies, such as World Health Organization (WHO) and Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have developed objectives to tackle diabetes. Some of these objectives include conducting surveillance and obtaining diabetes data to identify trends in the population, spreading awareness about the condition, and developing programs that will enhance diabetes care and ensure the longevity of the patients. Various programs have been developed but while some excel, others fail to benefit the lives of the patient.

The Characteristics of the diabetes are very distinctive and in some cases they are unnoticed. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), recommends individuals contact their physician if they

Individuals that have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are cared for by a variety of people like podiatrist, district nurses, DSNs, GPs, and practice nurses. Good communication between these professionals and the person with type 2 diabetes can lead to better insight into the individual’s life, therefore helping to plan and provide the best care for that person. This can reduce repetition, improve quality of care for people with diabetes type 2 and

It is important to contact a doctor immediately if these symptoms occur due to the severity of the illness.

People often do not realize how deadly and complicated diabetes is. When first diagnosed with diabetes patients may often be confused by how their lifestyle will have to change. Some patients may not even know how serious the complications may be. This information is to help not only the people who are affected by diabetes but also to inform everyone on how to help prevent the onset of diabetes.

Further complicating the diagnosis and treatment can be a mixed picture of both HHS and DKA. This occurs in both type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. In this case treatment is balanced between correcting the metabolic acidosis and lowering the osmolality of the blood. (Kearney T. & Dang, C., 2007)

My interest in this topic is a result of recent experiences with Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 (DMI), especially with the following two instances: a young adult patient admitted at the hospital following a DKA episode during one of my nursing rotations and one of my instructors with type 1 diabetes. Also, my father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, this has increased my eagerness to study and explore more about the disease.

Treatment of type 2 diabetes primarily involves monitoring of your blood sugar, along with diabetes medications, insulin or both. In order to avoid complications of the diabetes, a healthy lifestyle and diet is important keeping and eye on your blood sugar levels are all keys to managing diabetes. In addition, maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy eating and regular physical activities. Healthy eating includes following the food pyramid whiles reducing the intake of salt, sugars and fats. Physical activity may include running on a treadmill, playing basketball or even walking. Even with managing diabetes by taking medicine and living a healthy life style, visiting a doctor regularly is very important to ensure that the diabetes is under control (Ferry).

There are many types of diabetes. The two I will be discussing are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 generally affects young people and requires treatment with insulin. Five to ten percent of Americans with diabetes have this type. People with type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin and need regular shots of it to keep their blood glucose levels normal. People who are at risk for type 1 are those who have a family history of the disease,

The setting is a community health center at the St. Joseph Health Center in Jamaica, Queens, New York. This is a community health center in a low-income area of New York. The center deals with patients with a variety of medical diagnoses. Diabetes is one of diseases that affect 24 million Americans, and it is believe that 57 million more are at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. This is one of the important diseases with which the center deals. In Jamaica, Queens, more than 11% of adults have diabetes, which means that one in ten adults is a diabetic. It is also important to note that at this center, doctors are volunteers, but despite this fact, the staff is committed to disease prevention and awareness. .

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a condition in the body that is related to a faulty metabolism. It means that the body’s metabolism is not functioning properly, which leads to adverse effects in the health. The food we ingest, gets broken down into blood sugar (glucose), which is what fuels our body in the form of energy. This converted glucose needs to enter our cells so that it can be used for energy and growth. And in order for the glucose to enter our cells, there needs to be insulin present, which the beta cells of the pancreas is responsible for producing. This hormone is responsible for maintaining glucose level in the blood. It allows the body cells to use glucose as a main

Classic symptoms of diabetes usually presented with newly diagnosed diabetics are: hyperglycaemia, polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, fatigue, blurred vision, headaches, and unexplained weight loss. Ketone bodies are found in the urine, this abnormal finding occurs when fatty acid by-products (acetones) are excreted in the urine. The ketones are present from a lack of the insulin hormone used to metabolize fats and carbohydrates. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication which results from minimal useful insulin hormone in the body, hypoglycaemia, or insufficient food intake (American Diabetes Association, 2008).

Living with diabetes poses many challenges for patients in areas like nutrition, glycemic monitoring and medication adherence. In fact, patients with diabetes

Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) is a disease state, most often seen in individuals with Type I Diabetes. While it most often results from uncontrolled insulin levels, young children can often present in diabetic ketoacidosis as the initial presentation of undiagnosed type I Diabetes. The major symptoms of Type I Diabetes, polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria, are often subtle and can be normal in growing children (Urden, Stacy & Lough, 2014; Wilson, 2012). Unless alert to the symptoms of Diabetes they can often be overlooked until severe enough to warrant immediate medical attention.

Diabetes is associated with wide range of complications such as chronic renal failure, blindness, amputations, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and neuropathy (Alotabi, A., et al., 2016). There is no known cure for diabetes, but the disease can be controlled through health management that includes multiple perspectives of care such as medications, blood glucose monitoring, diet, nutrition, screening for long-term complications and regular physical activity (Alotabi, A., et al., 2016). Managing diabetes may be complicated and requires the knowledge and skills of both healthcare providers and the clients. Studies have shown that to prevent or delay diabetic complications due to diabetes, counseling and other lifestyle interventions are the effective therapy. Even with many policies set up for diabetes, 8.1 million Americans are undiagnosed with diabetes mellitus, and approximately 86 million Americans ages 20 and older have blood glucose levels that considerably increase their risk of developing Diabetes Mellitus in the next several years (CDC, 2015). For diabetes care to be successful there needs to be a good understanding of the disease and management by both patients and healthcare providers,