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Diabetes

Home > Illnesses and Disabilities Home > Types of Illnesses & Disabilities > Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose (often called blood sugar) is too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into your cells, where it is broken up to give the cells energy. If your body cannot make insulin, or your cells no longer respond to insulin, glucose can't get into your cells. Instead, it stays in your blood. Your blood glucose level then gets too high, causing diabetes.

The signs of diabetes are:

• being very thirsty
• urinating often
• feeling very hungry or tired
• losing weight without trying
• having sores that heal slowly
• having dry, itchy skin
• losing feeling or having tingling in your feet
• having blurry eyesight

If you have diabetes, you may have one or more of these signs. Some people have no signs at all. A blood test to check your glucose levels will show if you have diabetes or are likely to develop diabetes.

There are several types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes is when your body can no longer make insulin. This occurs because the body's defense system, called the immune system, attacks and kills the cells that make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults.
• Type 2 diabetes develops when the cells of your body stop responding to insulin as they should. In time, the cells that produce insulin lose their ability to do so. About 9 out of 10 people diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. It can develop at any age, even childhood. Being overweight and physically inactive puts you at greater risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
• Gestational diabetes is too high blood glucose during pregnancy. This form of diabetes usually goes away after delivery. But a woman who has had it is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

Over time, diabetes can damage your eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums, and teeth. Diabetes can also cause heart disease, stroke, and even the need to remove a limb.

Being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and sticking to the meal plan prescribed by your doctor can help control your diabetes. You should also check your glucose level regularly and take medicine if prescribed.

Additional Resources

Publications

1.     Be Smart About Your Heart. Control the ABCs of Diabetes: A1C, Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol - This two-color twofold brochure explains the link between diabetes and heart disease and encourages people with diabetes to take action to control the ABCs of diabetes: A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

   http://www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/pubs/ControlABC_broch_Eng.pdf

2.   Financial Help for Diabetes Care - This publication reviews the two government-funded health care assistance programs, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as other health care services available for people with diabetes. It lists organizations that address financial concerns about prescription drugs and medical supplies, prosthetic care, and dialysis and kidney transplantation. It also provides suggestions for finding local resources.

   http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/financialhelp/

3.   Frequently Asked Questions - Diabetes - This fact sheet explains in plain, easy to understand language, what diabetes is, the different types of diabetes, who may be at risk, diabetes symptoms, how doctors test for diabetes, who should be tested, and how it can be treated. This publication also addresses hypoglycemia and helps clear up common confusion about its relationship to diabetes.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/diabetes.htm

4.   The Power to Control Diabetes is in Your Hands - This brochure provides information for older adults with diabetes on how to manage their disease, including the importance of checking blood glucose levels, managing the ABCs of diabetes and how to access Medicare benefits.

   http://www.ndep.nih.gov/campaigns/Power/control_diabetes.htm

5.   Take Charge of Your Diabetes - This brochure contains information for people with diabetes on preventing complications. It also includes information for pregnant women.

   http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/tcyd/index.htm

6.   What I Need to Know about Eating and Diabetes - This publication reviews diabetes nutrition basics, including what, when, and how much a person with diabetes should eat. It discusses healthier ways to buy, cook, and eat foods to achieve good blood glucose control.

   http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/eating_ez/index.htm

7.   What I Need to Know About Gestational Diabetes - This booklet defines gestational diabetes, explains its causes and diagnosis, and outlines treatments. It also includes strategies for preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes later in life.

   http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/gestational/index.htm

8.   Your Guide to Diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2 - This booklet helps patients manage their diabetes, by giving advice on eating healthy, checking blood glucose levels and keeping in touch with a healthcare physician.

   http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/type1and2/index.htm

9. Diabetes and Pregnancy (Copyright © ADA) - The key to a healthy pregnancy for a woman with diabetes is keeping blood sugar in the target range- both before she is pregnant and during her pregnancy. To do this, you need a diabetes treatment plan that keeps meals, exercise, and insulin in balance.

   http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes/pregancy.jsp

Organizations

1.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS
2.   Diabetesatwork.org
3.   Food and Drug Administration, HHS
4.   National Diabetes Education Program
5.   National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, NIDDK, NIH, HHS
6.   National Eye Institute, NIH, HHS
7.   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, HHS
8.   National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, HHS
9. American Diabetes Association

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated May 15, 2008.