Spread Awareness About World Diabetes Day
Now that Halloween has come and gone, November is a busy month. Beginning with Bonfire Night, the month is full of events, leading up to the start of the Christmas countdown. However, it’s not widely known that World Diabetes Day is celebrated on 14th November every year.
About World Diabetes Day
Founded in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization, World Diabetes Day has one mission: to address growing concerns about the health risks caused by diabetes. It’s a worldwide occasion where people dealing with diabetes – including health professionals, diabetes campaigners, media, the general public, and government organisations around the world – come together to raise awareness of the disease.
World Diabetes Day is the world’s biggest diabetes awareness campaign and draws attention to important problems in the diabetes community and keeps diabetes in the eye of the general public and politicians. The campaign is symbolised by the blue circle logo.
Every year, the campaign focuses on a specific theme. The theme for 2021 to 2023 is ‘Access to Diabetes Care.’ Continue reading below to find out more information about the causes, types, and symptoms of diabetes.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that causes an individual’s blood sugar level to rise too high. In the UK, there are around 5 million people suffering from diabetes with another 13.6 million people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Causes of Diabetes
The sugar level in the blood is managed by a hormone known as insulin which is made by the pancreas, a gland found behind the stomach. When food is digested and the nutrients travel to your bloodstream, insulin takes glucose out of the blood and into the cells, then it’s broken down to use as energy.
Types of Diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes – when the immune system attacks and destroys the cells that create insulin.
- Type 2 diabetes – when the body doesn’t create enough insulin, or when the cells don’t act on the insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent than type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have type 2. A large number of people who suffer from diabetes are over the age of 50.
Symptoms of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes symptoms can develop quickly over a number of weeks or days. People can have type 2 diabetes for years without a diagnosis because early symptoms tend to be overlooked. Please visit your GP immediately if you experience these symptoms, which include:
- Feeling very thirsty.
- Fatigue.
- Peeing more frequently than normal, especially at night.
- Blurred eye vision.
- Loss of weight and muscle bulk.
- Itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush.
- Slow healing of cuts or wounds.
High-Quality Personal Care
At Hands on Care, we are based in Shropshire providing top-quality personal care and support to Shrewsbury, Telford and surrounding areas. So whether you or someone you know requires assistance with diabetes, please contact us. If you want to help a loved one who is diabetic, feel free to read our blog post. Additionally, why not explore our blog for more interesting and helpful information about other health conditions?