World Diabetes Day 2022: While one takes care of their diet and exercises regularly to control their blood sugar levels, people with diabetes must also monitor their blood glucose levels.
Diabetes: Controlling blood sugar levels is crucial to prevent diabetes complication
Diabetes has emerged as a silent pandemic that has affected millions of people in India. Diabetes, a chronic disorder, affects the ability of the body to use glucose present in the blood. Diabetes is usually of two types, type1, where the pancreas cannot produce insulin, and type-2 diabetes, which develops when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body develops resistance to insulin or the body is not able to use insulin.
Why is it essential to control blood glucose levels?
People with diabetes are always advised to control their blood glucose levels because uncontrolled blood sugar can cause severe complications like:
- Heart ailments, such as heart attack or stroke
- Kidney ailments which can sometimes require dialysis
- Sexual conditions, such as erectile dysfunction
- Eye problems like blurring of vision, and in advanced cases, it can cause blindness.
Sometimes uncontrolled blood sugar levels affect the circulation of blood, which can cause necrosis or death of tissues in that area. Sometimes this necrosis can lead to amputation of the limb.
What are the benefits of checking your blood sugar levels regularly?
When diagnosed with diabetes, people with diabetes initially tend to take good care of themselves and change their lifestyle, exercise regularly and monitor their blood glucose levels too as advised.
But with time, a few people with diabetes lose their interest in controlling their blood sugar levels, which is not correct. People with diabetes must get their blood sugar regularly tested at home with the help of a glucometer. The blood glucose targets for fasting blood sugar levels lies between 100 to 130 mg/dl, and the postprandial blood sugar levels can be between 140 to 180 mg/dl, whereas the hba1c or glycosylated haemoglobin levels (measured from venous blood) should be less than 7%. If these parameters go above or below the target, seek consultation from your doctor to prevent developing any complications.
Diabetes is a chronic condition, and people having diabetes must not shy away from asking their healthcare professionals about their conditions and ways to help them regulate blood glucose levels. People with diabetes must understand that it is essential to control their blood sugar levels to manage diabetes and its complications.
(Dr Semanti Chakraborty is a consultant endocrinologist at Woodlands Hospital)
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