Diabetes Awareness Week 13 to 19 June

This week 13 to 19 June marks Diabetes Awareness Week. This week provides the opportunity to learn more about this condition and gain a better understanding of living with diabetes as there are many misconceptions.  

So what do we need to know? There are a few different types of diabetes the most common ones being Type 1 and Type 2, which have different effects on the body but both if left untreated, can have serious consequences. Other types of diabetes include gestational diabetes, which some women may go on to develop during pregnancy and rarer types such as type 3c and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) too. 

With Type 1, you are unable to produce insulin and with Type 2, the insulin you produce may not be effective or not enough. With all types of diabetes ‘ glucose can’t get into your cells properly, so it begins to build up in your blood’ Diabetes UK.

Figures for the numbers of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes remain the same from last year at 90% which confirms this is the most common type. As with different types of diabetes, the treatment and management can be different and with advancement in modern technology, these are improving all the time.

Where there is a loss of control in a person's diabetes, this can affect them in many ways both in the home and work environment and can cause serious health problems. That is true whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. However, with type 2 diabetes, lifestyle changes can make a big difference in helping to get your blood glucose levels under control.

There are different symptoms, which can indicate diabetes such as:

• Going to the toilet a lot, especially at night
• Being really thirsty
• Feeling more tired than usual
• Losing weight without trying to
• Genital itching or thrush
• Cuts and wounds take longer to heal
• Blurred vision

This is not an exhaustive list and you can find out more about signs and symptoms here signs and symptoms of diabetes, as well as advice about what to do if you have some.

The word diabetes can cause fear in people but this should not be the case. Getting the right treatment can help people live full lives so it is very important for diabetes to be diagnosed as early as possible before getting worse if left untreated.

This week we can learn more about diabetes, how to live with it, changes to lifestyle measures and hearing people’s stories. For further information see the attached links  Diabetes UK - Know diabetes. Fight diabetes. | Diabetes UK and Diabetes - NHS (www.nhs.uk)