Take Action on Juvenile Diabetes, the sooner the better

Juvenile diabetes is also known as type 1 diabetes, the condition in which the insulin production is not enough to transform the blood sugar into energy for cells. Actually this is the early stage of diabetes which is noted through the abnormal body metabolism and high blood sugar level in bloodstream.

In normal body metabolism, the carbohydrate that we intake is processed into glucose or blood sugar in our bloodstream, then the insulin transforms the blood sugar into energy for cells. Cells need sufficient energy to work well or to support human's daily activities. Insulin is a hormone produced by pancreas and the only hormone in human body that can transform glucose into energy. The lack of insulin will cause overload blood sugar in bloodstream, and the unused blood sugar will exit the body through urine. That's why diabetic patients also have sweet urine.

The main factors that trigger juvenile diabetes are the genetic issues and unhealthy lifestyle. Children with diabetic parents have greater chance of having diabetes than children with only diabetic father or diabetic mother. Unhealthy lifestyle includes unhealthy eating habit, less exercise, and distressful mind. It is important to note that diabetic patients are mostly overweight or obesity. Though juvenile diabetes mostly found in elderly people over the age of 50, but it also attacks overweight youths and adults.

Diabetes is a major problem since millions of the United States citizens suffer from this disease. Diabetes can lead to many complications such as heart diseases, hypertension, stroke, high cholesterol level, blindness, kidney failure, nerves disorders, impotence, digestive problems, etc..

Recognize the symptoms of juvenile diabetes

Unlike other diseases which have obvious symptoms, juvenile diabetes symptoms are easily neglected since they are mostly 'felt' symptoms. And the bad news is when you regularly suffer from these juvenile diabetes symptoms, damages are already happening in your body. Regular blood check, once or twice a year, is the best solution to prevent diabetes.

Juvenile diabetes symptoms include extreme thirst and hunger, sudden drastic weight loss because when the body cannot use glucose as energy it will use fat as the source of energy, frequent urination especially at night, dry and itchy skin, feeling numb in hands and feet, easily get exhausted / extreme fatigue, slowly healed wound, blurred vision even though you rarely work on computer or watch TV, frequent vaginal yeast infection, and odor breath.

If you frequently have some of these symptoms, immediately have blood check or consult a doctor about your condition. Remember, the sooner is always the better. Neglecting the early symptoms of juvenile diabetes will lead to the next chapter of this disease, the type 2 diabetes, in which the body cannot produce anymore insulin to take care of the blood sugar.

When you consult your symptoms of juvenile diabetes with a doctor, you will have several tests :

1. Physical test includes a patient's health history, eye examination, treadmill for heart examination, weight and height measurements, waist and BMI (Body Mass Index) measurements, etc.
2. Blood test for checking the glucose rate in bloodstream.
3. Glucose-tolerance test for checking the insulin ability in transforming the glucose into energy. In this test, the patient is given a large dose of sugar drink and monitored for three hours to know the result.
4. Fasting blood sugar test is to know the actual glucose rate in bloodstream before the intake of food. That's why for this test the patient is asked to fast from 10 pm until the morning, and he/she can have breakfast after the test is done.
5. Glycohemoglobin (HbA1c) test is to know the effects of high glucose rate to the patient, and also the progress of the glucose rate after the treatment is given.
6. Urine test is to know the glucose and ketones (acids) rates in urine.

After your diabetic reports arrive at the doctor's desk, then these are the usual treatments given to a diabetic patient : an uniquely designed diet menu, exercise plan, the routine control of blood sugar rate, and insulin injection. However, these treatments cannot 100% cure you, but they can prevent the disease of getting worse.