Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that is caused by excess glucose (a type of sugar) in your bloodstream, either because your body can’t produce enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it does produce.
Insulin is a hormone produced by a healthy pancreas that helps the body break down the sugar in the blood and store it elsewhere in the body to be used later as energy. It is vitally important to the body because high blood sugar damages the body’s blood vessels, nerves, organs, tissues and much more.
Diabetes has been around for thousands of years but is now one of the leading chronic diseases of modern life. It currently affects some eleven million Canadians, which is more than 25% of the population of this country.
Diabetes occurs in two primary forms – types 1 and 2. The type 1 form is caused by the inability of the body to produce enough insulin to meet its needs. Type 2 diabetes is the result of the body losing its ability to break down blood sugar despite producing enough insulin.
This disease has many symptoms but some of the most typical ones are chronic hunger and thirst, a need to urinate frequently, blurred vision and chronic fatigue. Others are a tendency to lose weight ( with type 1 diabetes) and skin sores (especially with type 2 diabetes).
Complications of diabetes include blindness, deafness, foot ulcers, amputation, nerve damage (sciatica, for example), organ damage (kidney disease, for example) and even dementia. When it occurs together with conditions such as obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol and hypertension, it can produce a life threatening medical condition known as metabolic syndrome.
Doctors can use a range of drugs to treat either the type 1 or 2 forms of the disease. In addition, the type 2 form can be managed by changes to dietary intake and exercise levels
As mentioned above, there are two main forms of the disease – type 1 and type 2.
This is an auto immune condition and is the result of the body’s immune system, beginning to attack and destroy the cells of the pancreas, the organ responsible for production of insulin. As a result of these attacks, the body begins to produce decreasing amounts of insulin, which in turn causes the buildup of excess blood sugar.
This form of diabetes causes frequent thirst, hunger and urination as well as weight loss.
Type 2 diabetics produce enough insulin to break down their excess blood sugar. However, their body’s cells have become resistant to insulin and require always increasing amounts of the hormone to keep blood glucose at healthy levels.
Once the body’s ability to produce insulin has reached its limit, blood sugar levels starts to increase.
People with type 2 diabetes will show similar symptoms to those seen with type 1 but will also suffer from bodily sores and chronic tiredness.
There are two other forms of diabetes:
The factors that can increase your risk of developing diabetes differ between types 1 and 2.
These are:
The factors that increase the risk that you might develop type 2 diabetes are:
Gestational diabetes has its own set of risk factors, including being over age 25, family history, being overweight and belonging to the ethnic groups identified above.
As mentioned above, the key symptoms of diabetes include extreme thirst and hunger, frequent urination, unexpected weight loss, bodily sores and fatigue.
Diabetics may also experience the following:
Diabetes is mainly diagnosed by testing blood sugar levels.
Traditionally, doctors would ask the patient to fast for around 8 hours and then take a blood sample to measure blood glucose levels.
However, more recently, the A1C (or glycated hemoglobin) test has come into widespread use. It does not require fasting and provides an indication of average blood sugar levels over the 2-3 month period prior to the test.
The A1C test may be supplemented by random blood sugar tests (no fasting required), a fasting blood sugar test or an oral glucose tolerance test. This last option involves having the patient fast overnight and then testing the blood sugar level in the morning. The patient then drinks a sugary liquid and has his blood sugar measured over the next two hours.
Doctors may also take urine samples to look for evidence that muscle and fat tissue are being used to provide energy. If this is present, it could indicate that there is inadequate insulin to utilize the glucose available in the body – a sign of possible type 1 diabetes.
Treatment for diabetes involves some or all of the following, depending on the type of diabetes you have:
Yet another class of medication can be taken to increase your tissues’ sensitivity to insulin so that you need less of the hormone to control your blood sugar.
Doctors can also prescribe SGLT2 inhibitors – a class of medication that prevents the kidneys from absorbing sugar into the blood and instead force it into the urine for excretion.
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The Darco All Purpose Boot embodies nearly perfect four season postoperative protection with a closed-toe design that keeps dressings and toes warm and dry. This boot is designed to provide unparalleled versatility by accommodating both bulky dressings and most fiberglass casts.
The Darco Body Armor® Cast Shoe is designed to shield the cast from everyday wear and tear, moisture and shock. It sports a fresh, contemporary design and is effective with all types of casting materials and bulky bandages.
InfraCare Cold Feet Socks are an effective treatment for cold feet due to illnesses like Raynauds and Chilblains.
InfraCare Cold Hands Gloves are thin and breathable gloves that will keep your hands warm without causing sweat build up.
Synergy Diabetic Socks are non binding and non elasticized socks. They will reduce pressure on your leg and support blood circulation through your foot. By enhancing blood circulation, they reduce the risk that you may incur diabetic ulcers or other typical diabetes related skin or other conditions. These socks are available in two (2) colors…
The Darco HeelWedge™ will help to off-load pressure from your heel area by shifting pressure to the mid/forefoot areas. This speeds wound recovery after surgery or trauma or after suffering ulcerations or heel wounds. The Darco HeelWedge™ “off load” pressure on your feet by transferring pressure from your heel to your mid and forefoot areas. This will promote healing and protect wounds you may receive after surgery or trauma. The HeelWedge is also effective if you have ulcerations and wounds in your heel area. It has been proven to be effective in clinical and other settings. The HeelWedge helps to reduce friction and pressure on your heel area without interfering with your normal ambulatory and other activities. Once friction and pressure have been mitigated, your wounds, injuries and ulcerations can continue to heal without interruption. This is especially relevant to individuals with diabetes. They face a constant threat from ulcerations and wounds, and the Darco Heelwedge™ offers a viable answer to these problems. The same is true of anyone who have suffered a heel injury or had surgery in that area.
The Darco MedSurg™ shoe is the most versatile postoperative shoe on the market today. EVA insole features twice the padding of standard insoles and can be modified as needed.
The Darco OrthoWedge™ reduces weight bearing pressure on your forefoot region to promote faster healing from wounds or diabetic ulcerations. It will help to reduce forefoot pressure while you are walking or standing. It will promote healing of your metatarsal area (the region just behind your toes) after you have undergone surgery or experienced foot trauma. It will also assist recovery from diabetic ulcerations or forefoot wounds. The Orthowedge is equipped with a 15º wedge sole that shifts as much as 57% of body weight away from your forefoot region.
The PQ Series Darco PegAssist™ insole is a versatile peg insole for the HeelWedge™, OrthoWedge® and APB™ wound care shoes. Its removable pegs permit localized relief of pressure and its stabilizer board supports the pegs and keeps them from collapsing. The PTQ Series Darco PegAssist™insole is a similar product that goes with the Square-Toe MedSurg™ Shoe.
The Darco WCS™ Wound Care Shoe System features four multi density insoles that are modified to remove pressure from the plantar region of the foot.
