Abstract
Diabetes is a real disease that affects over 30 million Americans, diabetes can lead to heart, kidney, vision, brain, legs and more. This disease can become deadly if not treated properly. In long term care facilities and other medical settings if not taken care of properly can lead to deaths or permanent loss of function.
Diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a “variable disorder of carbohydrate metabolism caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors and usually characterized by inadequate secretion or utilization of insulin, by excessive urine production, by excessive amounts of sugar in the blood and urine, and by thirst, hunger, and loss of weight”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diabetes%20mellitus
Diabetes can be divided up into 4 diseases. Type 1 and Type 2 are both chronic diseases. Prediabetes and gestational diabetes are classified as reversible diseases. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, though it often appears during childhood. The more common Type 2 diabetes, has the ability to develop at any age, although it’s more common in people older than 40.
To fully grasp the cause and effect of diabetes it needs to be understood what insulin is and how it affects the human body. Insulin is a hormone that is formed inside the pancreas. The pancreas sends insulin into the bloodstream. The insulin circulates, and allows sugar to enter the cells. As the level of sugar in the blood drops, the amount of insulin entering the bloodstream from the pancreas drops. Glucose is a sugar, and it is a source of energy for muscles, the brain and other tissues. Glucose can be obtained from two sources: food and the liver that creates and stores glycogen. When your glucose levels start to fall, the liver breaks down the stored glycogen into glucose.
“Type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake) that destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, called beta cells. This process can go on for months or years before any symptoms appear. Diet and lifestyle habits don’t cause type 1 diabetes.”
The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is still widely unknown even though it has undergone years of research.
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type1.html
“More than 30 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10), and 90% to 95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people over age 45.” https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html
In type 2 diabetes, cells grow resistant to insulin, and the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to overcome this. Instead of moving into the cells where it’s needed for your muscles, the brain and other tissues the sugar accumulates in your bloodstream. Exactly why this occurs is still uncertain, although it’s thought that factors such as the environment to genetics can play a role in the development. Being overweight is often a similarity to type 2, but not everyone with type 2 is overweight. Prediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes if the issues being experienced in type 2 is not corrected such as with a healthy diet, or exercise.
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, hormones are created in the placenta to maintain pregnancy. These hormones unfortunately make your cells resistant to insulin. In normal circumstances the pancreas produces extra insulin to overcome this resistance. But when your pancreas can’t sustain it, not enough glucose gets into your cells and too much stays in your blood, ending with gestational diabetes.
Treatment for gestational diabetes can consist “of going to all of the prenatal appointments and following the treatment plan, including: Checking your blood sugar to make sure your levels stay in a healthy range. Eating healthy food in the right amounts at the right times. Follow a healthy eating plan created by your doctor or dietitian.
Being active. Regular physical activity that’s moderately intense (such as brisk walking) lowers your blood sugar and makes you more sensitive to insulin so your body won’t need as much. Make sure to check with your doctor about what kind of physical activity you can do and if there are any kinds you should avoid. Monitoring your baby. Your doctor will check your baby’s growth and development.”
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/gestational.html
As nursing assistants there is a very large chance that NA’s will experience this disease at least once but Most likely daily chance. It is a good idea for NA’s to practice and learn what do so in situations where a resident has diabetes. An NA’s responsibility could be potentially checking blood sugar levels, or giving insulin tablets. As an NA they should proactively reinforce the idea of eating and living a healthy life to prevent diabetes if the resident does not already have it.
Often diabetes is associated with “long-term damage, dysfunction, and failure of different organs, especially the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels.” In conclusion type 1 diabetes is still widely unknown as to the cause. Prediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes if the body remains unhealthy or is left in bad environmental conditions. Gestational Diabetes can be treated with multiple steps and caring for your healthy. Diabetes is a disease and over 30 million Americans experience it.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/Supplement_1/S81