Precautions of Diabetes

Precautions:

There are many precaution measures that one can take in order to avoid diabetes. One important precaution is the special attention at one’s daily diet and nutritional system. By having a balanced alimentary regime people can easily avoid diabetes and many other diseases that can derive from bad alimentation.

People are also advised to have a lot of physical exercise, as studies have shown that the ones who practice sports are less threatened by the risk of getting diabetes. This disease is characteristic for sedentary people. The lack of physical activity can easily lead to diabetes.

By a healthy diet and by physical workout people can, hence avoid getting diabetes. Also, people are advised to take theirmedical tests at least twice a year in order to become aware of the eventual problems that they may have up to that certain point.

Although moderate exercise is one of the best and safest therapies for diabetics, or any one else for that matter, first thing I would like you to do is to tell your doctor you want to have a stress test done.

This is a very simple procedure; your doctor will ask you to step on a treadmill or a stationary bicycle while an electrocardiograph (EKG) machine monitors the activity in your heart. Your doctor, or the person conducting the test, will ask you to increase the level of your work little by little and as the heart rate increases, the EKG devise detects any abnormalities that may be present when the heart is working too hard.

This test can detect if your arteries are blocked or if the heart has a tendency toward arrhythmia or skipped beats. Your doctor then can use the test results to advice you on how much and what type of exercise is appropriate for you and what your heart rate should be during your workouts.

Your Exercise Heart Rate

Health authorities have determined that we can achieve the most benefits from exercise when the heart reaches a certain rate. Below that, the heart is not working hard enough to get the benefits of exercise and above it, we may be putting ourselves at risk.

What heart rate should you aimed at during exercise?

If your doctor does not indicate to you your maximum heart rate (the safe upper limit) during exercise, you can figure it out by yourself. It is very easy: subtract your age from 220. Example: since you are 45, your maximum heart rate at exercise is 220 minus 45, which equals 175. Another example: if a person is 55, his/her maximum heart rate is 165 (220 minus 55).

Determine a training heart rate

Depending on your level of fitness, the suggested training rate is between 65 and 85% of your maximum heart rate. As a precaution, don’t let your exercising pulse go above this rate. Beginners, such as in your case, should stay in the lower range; more fit individuals can go to the higher end.

Check your pulse rate

Since, in order to send more blood to your muscles, your heart has to beat faster faster when you exercise, your pulse rate also increases. While in the process of exercising, check your pulse rate at intervals to make sure your level of work is appropriate.

First, find your pulse by placing your middle and index fingers inside your wrist, below your thumb (An alternative pulse point is on the large artery on either side of your neck). Once you feel the pulse, count the number of beats during ten seconds and then multiply the number obtained by six. This tells you how many times your heart is beating per minute.

Try to make an appointment with your doctor at your earliest convenience. In the meantime, you can walk at a moderate pace. Brisk walking is quite safe.

A word of warning for patients with diabetes type 1

Exercise, in and of itself, lowers blood glucose. Because of this, the pancreas stops or slows down the production of insulin and if the diabetic person takes oral drugs or uses insulin, the level of blood glucose can go down too much, creating a dangerous situation. If you have diabetes type 1, by all means, have a guideline from your doctor on what type of exercise you can do before starting a vigorous exercise program.

Treatments:

There are numerous treatments found for diabetes so far. The pills taken for lowering the glycemia level are the most common treatment. They are used by people suffering from diabetes in an early stage of the disease. The pills can be usual ones that can be found in all the pharmacies, or naturist pills, the ones based on natural ingredients only. These pills are said to lower the level of glycemia from the patient’s blood. That is why they must be administrated and taken by respecting a strict schedule.

Another common treatment for diabetes is the insulin. This substance is usually injected in the organism and people who are prescribed insulin are usually suffering from and advanced form of diabetes. Insulin is prescribed when the glycemia level has reached a dangerous point. Another method of administrating insulin is the plaster method. There are special plasters in pharmacies that contain the necessary dose of insulin for a certain amount of time. Some people use plasters instead of the injection method, since the plaster method has become very popular and so easy to use.