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As the caregiver for someone with diabetes, find out everything you can about diabetes and how it affects the person in your care. This show will review basics.
Nearly seven percent of Americans have diabetes, a serious and increasingly common disease that often causes cardiovascular, vision and kidney disease. But while diabetes isn't curable, it is controllable. And good healthcare can prevent life-threatening complications. Of the more than 14 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes, a small percentage have type 1 diabetes, which is caused by the body's failure to produce insulin, a hormone needed to regulate glucose in the body. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood, and all those with type 1 diabetes require insulin injection (individual shots or via pump) to live. Much more common is type 2 diabetes, which typically occurs in overweight, sedentary adults who have a family history of the disease. More than 18 percent of Americans over the age of 60 have type 2 diabetes, notes the American Diabetes Association. Those with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance or insulin deficiency. Some take insulin; others manage their condition through diet or oral medications. As the caregiver for someone with diabetes, find out everything you can about diabetes and how it affects the person in your care.