How Is Diabetes Diagnosed?
According to current recommendations presence of any of the criteria
below indicates that the person has diabetes:
- Fasting plasma glucose is above 126 mg/dl;
- Diabetes symptoms exist and casual plasma glucose is equal to or
above 200 mg/dl; or
- Plasma glucose is equal to or above 200 mg/dl during an oral
glucose tolerance test.
If any of these test results occurs, testing should be repeated on
a different day to confirm the diagnosis.
How is diabetes treated?
The mainstay of treatment of diabetes is to maintain reasonably
constant levels of glucose in the blood, and mainly two things achieve
this: regulating the diet and regulating your insulin dose.
Three methods of treatment are available for diabetic patients:
- Diet alone,
- Diet and an oral hypoglycemic agent(drugs which lower the glucose
levels in blood) and
- Diet and insulin.
There are certain things that those who have diabetes, whether
type 1 or type 2, need to do to be healthy. You need to have a
meal
(eating) plan. You need to pay attention to how much you exercise,
because exercise can help your body use insulin better to convert
glucose into energy for cells. Everyone with type 1 diabetes, and some
people with type 2 diabetes, needs to take
insulin injections. Some
people with type 2 diabetes take pills called
"oral agents"
which help their bodies produce more insulin and/or use the insulin
it is producing better. Some people with type 2 diabetes can manage
their disease with
weight loss, diet and exercise alone and
don't need any medication.
Everyone who has diabetes should have
regular eye exams (once
a year) by an ophthalmologist to make sure that any eye problems
associated with diabetes are caught early, and treated before they
become serious.
