World diabetes day was created by who in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. It became an official united nations day in 2006, celebrated every year on November 14th commemorating the birthday of sir fredrick banting

What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugars, released into the bloodstream, signals the pancreas to release insulin that acts as a key to let sugars into cell.

Types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes: usually diagnosed in children and young adults, better known as juvenile diabetes wherein insulin producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the autoimmune process.

Type 2 diabetes: most common type, occurs in middle aged and older people where in there will be insulin resistance.

Pre-diabetes: this type is the stage before type 2 diabetes where sugar levels are higher than normal and are in risk to develop type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes: found in some women during pregnancy and are at
Higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes at later part of life.

Risk factors:
Family history of diabetes, physical stress, injury to the pancreas, overweight, sedentary life, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, age more than 45 years, smoking and alcohol intake, history of gestational diabetes.

Symptoms: increased thirst, weak and tired feeling, blurred vision, numbness or tingling sensation in hands or feet, slow healing of sores or cuts, unplanned weight loss, frequent urination, unexplained infections, dry mouth complications of diabetes: if blood sugars are not controlled, you may develop complications like coronary artery disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage, foot ulcers, skin infections, hearing loss, depression, dementia, dental problems. Complications may develop if sugar levels remain high over a longer period of time.

Diagnosis: diagnosis is done by checking fasting and post prandial blood sugars, random blood sugars and hba1c fasting blood glucose >126 mg/dl random blood glucose:>200 mg/dl hba1c:>6.5%

Diabetes care and management:
Keep your blood sugars low by following a diabetic diet, regular physical activity, maintaining lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels, controlling blood pressure, reducing mental stress by practicing yoga and meditation, early diagnosis of diabetes, regular monitoring of blood sugars, taking your anti diabetic medication or insulin regularly as advised by your physician we, at Asvins hospital, somajiguda have expertise in diagnosing, treating diabetes and dealing with its complications as we are supported by multidisciplinary specialists and critical care.