The problem with diabetes is that it does not give any serious pains or symptoms at the first few years after someone is diagnosed with the illness. High blood sugar level is the only benchmark to indicate the level of diabetes someone is experiencing. Hyperglycemia alone cannot cause death to a person, but it is the long term exposure to high blood sugar concentration that damages the organs inside the body which will eventually surface as diabetes related health complications.

Imagine there are two tubes available. Tube A is passed with water with mild mixture of sugar and Tube B is passed with syrup of high sugar concentration. Liquid in Tube A is flown at fast speed while syrup in Tube B is flown at low speed (almost all diabetes patients have slow flowing blood). After a few days of continuously circling the liquid in the tubes, stop the cycle and drain away the liquids. Cut a section of the tubes respectively and observe the inner walls of the tubes, you will notice there is a layer of harden sugar on Tube B while the wall Tube A is clean.

Tube B is the exact condition happens to a diabetes patient’s blood capillaries over a long period of time. When the inner wall of the capillaries is covered by a layer of glucose, it is very hard or impossible for the nutrient exchange to take place. Cells or tissues around that zone will not be able to receive nutrients and oxygen for metabolism and cannot dispose of the waste products of respiration. Slowly, those cells will start to die off and as the tissues break down, the organs will start to fail.

The parts of the body that are easily affected by the poor blood circulation are the heart, kidneys, eyes, and brain. This is because the blood vessels in these organs are very fine and complex (with a lot of curves and twists) and all those corners are spots where the blood flow slows down which makes it much easier for the glucose to stick and deposit on the wall of the capillaries.

Over time, the blood supply to these areas will be blocked and lack of adequate oxygen and nutrients supply to cells within these organs will eventually lead to heart attacks, kidney failure, vision loss, and stroke. All of these diabetic health complications are fatal and they can visit anytime without prior warning.

Before your diabetes condition reaches the “Death Zone”, you should experience some warning signs. The warning signs I am talking about is in the feet and eyes. The common one is the Diabetic Feet. It is easy for the blood to flow down to the feet (with the help of gravity force and pump pressure from the heart) but it is very hard for the blood to climb back up. This poor blood circulation will increase the probability capillary blockage. This will result in the numbness and tingling feeling on the feet. If there is any open wound in the diabetic feet, it is very hard for the wound to heal and that will open the door to further infection which might end up with amputation!

Another warning sign is the blur vision or cataracts. Blood sugar abnormalities will thicken the wall of the fine blood vessels in the eye retina and over time. As the condition become worse, these blood vessels will swell and causes leak of fluid and blood into the retina. Many people with diabetes notice that their vision becomes blurry when their blood sugar increases. This is because the sugar in the blood is diffused into the lens of the eye which causes swelling and that will change the focal point of the eye. If the leaking or eye hemorrhage is not treated properly, it may result in permanent loss of vision.

The very pathetic part of diabetes is that it takes away the quality of your life long before it ends your life in a miserable way. It is self torture! Prevent it, while you still can.

Type 2 diabetes (characterised by being resistant to the effects of insulin or not making enough insulin) affects about 90 percent of the people that are diagonsed with diabetes.

Researchers at the University of Chicago state the following in a November 2009 report:

Much of these costs are associated with the aging baby boomer population (those 77 million Americans born between 1946 and 1957). According to Dr. Elbert Huang, professor of medicine at the U of C and study co-author says “It’s a combination of increasing numbers and cost that drive these frightening numbers.”

This reinforces the need to prevent diabetes through public and private health efforts. Prevention of diabetes (type 2 for most people) requires transformation of the way we eat, increasing the amount of exercise performed, and points out the importance of finding new ways of treating diabetes efficiently. For people that contract diabetes through this route, this means finding a way to reduce insulin resistance.

Dr. David Kendall, American Diabetes Association chief scientific and medical officer, noted the following after reviewing these findings “The study was entirely consistant.. with previous reports that the growth in diabetes is substantial and ever-increasing, and the costs of diabetes also are substantial and ever-increasing.”

A separate report, also issued in the fall of 2009 from Loyola University Health System, noted that more diabetics are becoming morbidly obese. It stated that 1 in 5 people with Type 2 diabetes are over 100 pounds overweight. The medical definition of this condtion is morbidly obese. Further detail in the report noted that 62 percent of Type 2 adults in the US are obese and 21 percent are morbidly obese. In the African-American population with diabetes, one third are morbidly obese. These numbers are based on the body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

People that are morbidly obese have a series of issues beyond diabetes (or in addition to diabetes) which can include:

I bring these facts up to illustrate the growing problem of diabetes and the cause of diabetes for most people.

It follows that an obvious solution to the issue, on an individual basis, would be to control your weight. This is proven to be possible through a combination of diet modification and exercise. Both of these ideas are influenced by popular culture and individual choice. Help and support in making these choices is available through many avenues. The most effective way is by education and action fueled by motivation.

The mean time of ulcer duration was 44 weeks, the median being 16 weeks (range 1–74 weeks). When we examined ulcer duration according to the results of the different diagnostic methods, in patients in whom osteomyelitis was biopsy proven, ulcer duration was 41.67 ± 75.52 weeks, and in those with a negative biopsy result, it was 52.19 ± 104.32 weeks (P = 0.554). Corresponding ulcer durations in weeks recorded for a positive versus a negative test result, respectively, were PTB 41.15 ± 74.19 vs. 56.48 ± 112.74 (P = 0.417), ulcer specimen culture 45.83 ± 85.14 vs. 33.19 ± 62.55 (P = 0.519), radiography signs 42.08 ± 72.97 vs. 55.59 ± 129.61 (P = 0.528), and clinical signs 44.26 ± 89.51 vs. 42.83 ± 62.99 (P = 0.926).

Test efficiencies (percentage of patients correctly diagnosed as positive or negative) were PTB 93.89% (88–99.1%), ulcer specimen culture 71.97% (63.4–79.7%), radiographic signs 75.76% (67.4–82.6%), and clinical signs 59.09% (50.2–67.4%). To try to improve the capacity for diagnosing osteomyelitis, we assessed the use of two of the clinical diagnostic methods compared with bone histology and found that only when the PTB test was one of the two methods was the result significant. Thus, the pair of methods, clinical signs plus PTB, showed a sensitivity of 64.8%, specificity of 77.8%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 91.9%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 36.2% (P < 0.001, κ 0.298); for radiography signs plus PTB the values recorded were sensitivity 88.6%, specificity 66.7%, PPV 91.2%, and NPV 60% (P < 0.001, κ 0.530); and for culture plus PTB they were sensitivity 84.8%, specificity 77.8%, PPV 93.8%, and NPV 56.8% (P < 0.001, κ 0.550). The test revealed by this analysis as most accurate was the PTB with a PPV of 94.5%. According to the decision tree, a correct diagnosis was made in 98.4% of the neuropathic ulcers vs. 88% of the neuroischemic ulcers. The correlation between ulcer duration and risk of having osteomyelitis was only significant for the neuroischemic ulcers such that 100% of ulcers <9 weeks old were positive for osteomyelitis. In this study we sought to provide data on the validity of the tests used in current clinical practice to diagnose chronic osteomyelitis in diabetic foot ulcers. There is still much controversy regarding the best way to detect bone infection in patients with diabetes, and there is also confusion about which is the most efficient treatment. Although most researchers consider that the histopathological study of bone specimens is the criterion standard for diagnosing osteomyelitis, this method is not systematically used because clinicians feel that surgically obtaining bone tissue is an aggressive procedure and puts patients at risk. Moreover, qualified medical staff are needed to undertake the surgical procedure. Buy avandia online
Few studies have validated the use of clinical signs as a diagnostic tool for infection of the diabetic foot. Cutting and White and Gardner et al. performed a series of studies on chronic foot ulcers, but their patients had different systemic diseases including diabetes. Our findings indicate that assessment of clinical signs of infection in diabetic patients, although valid, provides limited information for a prompt diagnosis of osteomyelitis. There is an obvious need for a more detailed and precise definition of clinical indicators in chronic diabetic ulcers.

It is a question asked every day by those who have just been diagnosed with diabetes, as well as those who are just looking for an upgrade. How do I get a free blood glucose meter? The reality is that if you are just starting to purchase diabetic supplies, or if you have been testing for years, you typically can find free glucose meters being handed out in a variety of places. The reason is that all the manufacturers want you buying their glucose test strips, solutions, lancets, etc., and that is why the market is flush with free glucose meter offers. The assumption is that once you buy the meter, you will purchase the remainder of your supplies with that company.

Here’s our take on the top 3 ways to make sure you’re not paying for a glucose meter that everyone else is getting free of charge:

• Ask Your Doctor – This is pretty darn simple, and if you were just diagnosed, you probably don’t need us telling you the obvious (since your doctor probably handed you one on the way out of the office). Yes, most doctors, especially those that specialize in diabetes, have been given plenty of free meters to hand out to their patients from different product manufacturers. It makes sense that your doctor will have their favorite brand, but do not hesitate to ask for a brand you are most comfortable with if you’ve had the chance to do some research. If they cannot provide what you are looking for, move on to tip # 2… there are other options.
• Call Your Supplier – Every diabetic patient has some sort of ongoing supplier of diabetic test strips, solution, lancets, and other supplies in order to test their blood sugar on a regular basis. Most of these companies will have access to free blood glucose meters. As with your doctors, they typically have a certain number of free meters to give out by individual manufacturers looking to have you use their test strips and other diabetic supplies.
• Contact the Manufacturer – If all else fails (and it certainly should not), just give the manufacturer of the blood glucose meter you would like to purchase a call. There is nothing like going straight to the source, and they would be more than happy to send a meter, or direct you to one of their retailers who can provide the same.

The point is that most of these organizations would be happy to accept payment if you decide to buy a meter out of pocket. Not all suppliers or doctors will be able to provide every brand at no cost, but most will have at least some type of glucose meter free of charge. You may need to go to more than one source, or possibly be open to a different brand than you had originally planned, but there is absolutely no need to pay.

This is especially true in a time when more and more people are being forced to pay for diabetic supplies out of pocket due to not having insurance, or insurance that does not adequately cover their costs. If this is the situation you find yourself in, just watch that the free glucose meter you are handed doesn’t come with test strips that are out-of-this-world expensive. You will find this to be the case in many of the doctor’s offices, in which case you should find your supplier of choice, and have them help you get a glucose meter with test strips that are affordable in the long term. Any good supplier will certainly be able to do this for you.

All of the patients with diabetic ulcers underwent plain radiography to obtain dorsoplantar, lateral, and oblique views of both feet for assessment of possible bone alterations produced by the lesion. Osteomyelitis was suspected when one or more of the following radiographic signs were observed: periosteal elevation, cortical disruption, medullary involvement, osteolysis, and sequestra (segments of necrotic bone separated from living bone by granulation tissue).

Finally, based on the results of the clinical examination, soft tissue culture, PTB, and plain X-ray, patients with a diagnostic suspicion of osteomyelitis were subjected to a bone tissue biopsy obtained by conservative surgery. During surgery, we first removed all nonviable infected soft tissue and then excised all of the affected bone, obtaining a representative bone sample for subsequent histopathological analysis. The bone biopsy specimens were introduced in a sterile recipient containing 10% buffered formalin solution and transported to the pathological anatomy laboratory within 48 h, where they were immediately processed and examined. The histological criteria considered diagnostic of osteomyelitis were inflammatory cell infiltrate mostly composed of lymphocyte cells, plasma cells, neutrophils within spongy and cortical bone; bone necrosis; and reactive bone neoformation possibly accompanied by prominent periosteal bone proliferation (18). We used the results of the bone biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of osteomyelitis.

The prevalence of osteomyelitis in the 132 patients with clinical suspicion of infection included in this study was 79.5% (105 patients). Each of these patients had a single ulcer. Of the ulcers, 59% were classified as neuropathic and 41% were classified as neuroischemic. The mean ± SD duration of diabetes was 15.6 ± 9.5 years, blood glucose was 161.4 ± 60.3 mg/dl, and A1C was 7.9 ± 1.9%. The following complications of diabetes were recorded: diabetic retinopathy in 68 patients (51.5%), diabetic nephropathy in 27 patients (20.5%), hypertension in 94 patients (71.2%), stroke in 62 patients (47%), cardiovascular problems in 56 patients (42.4%), prior ulcers in 65 patients (49.2%), and prior conservative lower extremity amputation in 48 patients (36.4%).

The etiopathogenic characteristics of the ulcers were lack of pedal pulses in 33 patients (25%), a positive monofilament test in 100 patients (75.8%), and vibration sensitivity in 121 patients (91.7%); the ankle-arm index was 0.91 ± 0.3 and TcPo2 was 34.2 ± 14 mmHg. In 124 patients (93.9%), the ulcer was classified as Wagner grade III, in 5.3% as grade II, and in 0.8% as grade IV. According to Texas classification, the ulcers in 73 patients (55.3%) were type IIIA and in 41 patients (31.1%) they were type IIIB; types IA and IIIC were less frequently recorded, and each appeared in only 1 patient (0.8%).

In 75 patients (56.8%), the exudate from the ulcer was serous, in 32 patients (24.2%), there was no exudate, in 18 patients (13.6%), the exudate was purulent, in 5 patients (3.8%), it was sanguinous, and in 2 patients (1.5%) it was serosanguinous. In 98.2% of the patients, the ulcers appeared on the forefoot. Most of these ulcers appeared on the middle toes (second, third, and fourth) (28.7%) or the underside of the second, third, and fourth metatarsals (27.2%). The least frequent locations were over the scaphoid (0.9%) and cuboid (0.9%) bones.