Diabetes is the talk of the town at the moment with everyone from the age of Justin Bieber to Al Pacino being susceptible to this sugar monster.
Let’s look at what the disease is and what are the symptoms associated with it.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a medical condition where the sugar content in your bloodstream is higher than the recommended levels.
The blood sugar level in the morning known as the fasting level is the lowest. The normal blood sugar levels for a nondiabetic person at this time is between 3.9 to 5.5 mmol/L, while the normal blood sugar level for a diabetic person is between 4.4 to 7.2 mmol/L.
The blood sugar level rises after a meal. So, the normal blood sugar level for a nondiabetic person is between 6.5 to 7.8 mmol/L and the normal blood sugar level for a diabetic person is approximately 10.0 mmol/L.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
The 5 common symptoms of diabetes are:
Urge to urinate frequently, especially during the night
Unquenchable thirst
Tiredness and fatigue
Loss of weight
Thrush or itching in the genitals
What causes diabetes?
To analyze the reason behind diabetes, it’s essential to understand the role insulin plays in your bloodstream.
Insulin is a hormone which is secreted by the pancreas. This insulin is responsible for breaking down all the sugar you ingest, so that energy is stored in your body. If this insulin is absent or not able to carry out its function, the sugar in your body is not broken down and keeps on accumulating and leads to diabetes.
Insulin is the key that opens your cells to permit the entry of glucose and storage of energy. Now without that key, sugar just adds on which results in the cells of your body starving due to the absence of glucose.
The reasons why the insulin fails to work or is even absent are what give rise to different types of diabetes like:
Prediabetes
This is the most harmless stage of diabetes.
When your sugar level isn’t high enough to be categorized under actual diabetes, it’s called prediabetes.
Being careful prevents your prediabetes from turning into actual diabetes.
Type 1
At times the immune cells mistake insulin-producing cells as harmful and start resisting them. As a result, the production of insulin is eventually stopped.
The Islets are cells which detect sugar and produce insulin. Now the islets are under attack by their very hosts.
As there’s a shortage of insulin, treatment involves the supply of insulin from external sources in the form of injections or pills.
Type 2
This is the most common version of diabetes.
In this case, the insulin is produced just fine, but the insulin fails to “open” the cells. In other words, the insulin doesn’t quite have the key to convince your cells for the intake of glucose.
This is also called insulin resistance.
Treatment includes maintaining a balanced diet free from excess sugar and refined carbs. Working out and shedding excess fat is critical here.
Gestational diabetes
This diabetes occurs in pregnant women. Treatment consists of getting regular insulins shots and regulating the sugar content from time to time.
Don’t fret if you have diabetes. Keeping a positive mindset and doing your best will take you a long way. If you’re not, keep a check on your diet, work out often and cut down on the carbonated drinks, this will enormously reduce your risks of becoming diabetic.
Chronic migraine is a condition where the affected person experiences at least 15 headache days a month. It is observed that at least 8 out of these 15 days are migraine headaches with severe symptoms, and this pattern of discomfort remains consistent for 3 months. Initially, it may not be a frequently occurring episode, however, with time, the episodes may get regular with chronic headaches. If left untreated, this condition can affect a person’s life.
Causes
Several factors determine the onset of this kind of migraine. One of them includes a steady increase in the frequency of episodic headaches. Over-the-counter treatment options that are used to treat frequent headaches stop affecting over time, leading to side effects that develop into chronic headaches. Some other factors that can put an individual at a high risk of developing this condition include mood disorders like anxiety or depression, snoring, excessive caffeine intake, ongoing disturbed sleep patterns, and a history of stressful life events causing emotional or physical trauma. An unhealthy lifestyle leading to an increase in the body mass index (BMI) can also be a causal factor.
Symptoms
There is no difference between symptoms of chronic migraines and episodic migraines. However, the only thing to notice is the increased frequency of episodic headaches in a month. Some typical symptoms of this illness can be observed for timely diagnosis and treatment.
Transitioning symptoms (episodic to chronic migraines)
Diagnosis
A health professional will take a look at the affected person’s health history. If needed, the doctor may ask questions that help understand the migraine patterns. The questions include how and when the migraines begin, how long they last, are there any notable physical factors or triggers that worsen the condition, and where the location of the pain is.
The professional may also ask for a detailed history of other health conditions like anxiety, depression, lifestyle choices that may trigger these headaches, any treatment options used, and possible side effects that could be factored into the diagnosis. Based on the results, appropriate treatment methods will be advised and implemented.
Treatment options
Most of the treatment methods focus on managing the symptoms, the migraine attacks, and reducing the episodes and pain.
One of the treatment therapies includes focusing on lifestyle changes.
Some other treatment options for managing migraine attacks include:
Other techniques include:
Also, maintain a headache diary and note down the possible triggers and the number of migraine attacks in a month. If there’s a notable increase in the attacks, consult a doctor at the earliest. Knowing the triggers can help the doctor chalk out an effective treatment plan.
Preventive treatments and methods
Apart from treatment options that help manage the symptoms, there are preventive treatment methods that reduce the episodes of these headaches to a certain extent. These include using beta blockers and other therapies. One such treatment method also includes using an Allergan product named BOTOX®, which doctors recommend for those 18 years and older. The intravenous treatment method is administered around the neck or the head, where the migraine pain usually affects the person. This ten-minute procedure is not painful and can prevent headaches for three months. The procedure takes place in a doctor’s clinic under close supervision.
Chronic migraine can be painful and disrupt everyday life activities, so choosing the right treatment plan is crucial. Get all the information from a licensed health professional and seek the best possible treatment plan according to a detailed diagnosis.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that develops in the cells that produce melanin. The pigment melanin is responsible for giving the skin its color. Advanced melanoma can form inside one’s nose, throat, or digestive tract. Studies show that the risk of melanoma increases in people under 40, especially women. Knowing the early signs of the disease is crucial since melanoma can be treated successfully if detected early.
Stages
There are five stages of melanoma. The cancer cells of Stage 0 melanoma are restricted to the epidermis, the top layer of skin. The epidermis and dermis, the deeper layer of the skin, both contain cancer cells in Stage I melanoma. Stage II melanoma is marked by tumor thickness and ulceration, while Stage III is marked by melanoma deposits in the skin and cancer spreading to nearby lymph nodes. The advanced stage of melanoma, also called metastatic skin cancer, shows the further spread of cancer to distant areas of the body.
Causes of advanced melanoma
The exact cause of melanoma is unknown, although exposure to harsh ultraviolet (UV) radiation, tanning beds, or lamps has been shown to increase one’s risk of getting the disease. One can develop skin disease anywhere in one’s body. Those with a family history of the disease or exposure to radiation or vinyl chloride are also vulnerable to metastatic melanoma.
Signs of advanced melanoma
An early sign of melanoma is the development of an unusual mole. Normal moles are minor and uniform in size and color. But melanoma moles have irregular shapes or borders and can be larger than 6 millimeters. If a mole grows in size, color, and shape and causes itchiness, it’s best to get it checked. Advanced melanoma may lead to chronic fatigue, swollen lymph nodes or liver, loss of appetite, jaundice, skin itchiness, headaches, and even seizures. Depending on where the metastatic melanoma has spread, one may experience chest pain, breathing issues, aching bones, paralysis, sleepiness, and swelling in one’s legs or abdomen.
Melanoma treatment options
The American Cancer Society reports that the five-year survival rate for patients with melanoma that has spread to surrounding lymph nodes is 66%. Surgery is a common way to treat it. Targeted therapy is another method to eliminate the tumor and its metastases selectively. Alternatively, immunotherapy aids a person’s immune system in recognizing and shrinking cancer cells. Other treatments for metastatic skin cancer include chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Conclusion
Opdulag is a standard treatment for advanced melanoma skin cancer. The therapy, given by intravenous (IV) infusions, works with one’s immune system and is used to fight cancer that has spread or cannot be surgically removed. If one experiences any early signs of melanoma skin cancer, it’s recommended to consult a doctor immediately.