Diabetes

Diabetes is a fairly common health condition, where a person’s pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin or where the insulin that is produced does not work properly. This causes the amount of glucose in your blood (blood sugar level) to be too high because the body cannot use it properly.

There are two types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce any insulin. It usually occurs before the age of 40, and especially in childhood. A common way of treating Type 1 diabetes is through daily insulin injections.
• Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still make some insulin, but it is either not enough or does not work properly. It is usually controlled with a healthy diet, exercise and, in some cases, insulin.

In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have Type 2.

During pregnancy, some women have such high levels of blood glucose that their body is unable to produce enough insulin to absorb it all. This is known as gestational diabetes. People with diabetes will be advised to eat a healthy balanced diet, exercise regularly and carry out regularly blood tests to check blood glucose. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to damage to the heart, eyes, feet and kidneys.

The signs and symptoms

A person with diabetes may experience a range of symptoms including:

• Excessive thirst
• Needing the toilet frequently
• Tiredness
• Wounds that don’t heal quickly
• Weight loss.

To manage their condition a person with diabetes will need to have regular meals, exercise and treat ‘hypos’ quickly by eating sugary but not fatty food or drink. There is no special ‘diabetic diet’ although a healthy diet is important in controlling both forms of diabetes.

Although diabetes cannot be cured you can control the symptoms in order to prevent health problems developing later on in life. Glucose or blood sugar levels need to be regularly checked. If the levels are too low, a person could experience hypoglycaemia (a hypo). Signs that someone is having a hypo could be hunger, shakiness, irritability or blurred vision.

A change in blood glucose could also trigger:

• Hypoglycaemia (hypos) when their blood glucose level is too low and they experience sweating, anxiety/irritability, hunger, difficulty concentrating, blurred sight, feeling shaky.
• Hyperglycaemia (hyper) when their blood sugar is too high, and they experience feeling very thirsty, needing the toilet more, tiredness, weight loss, blurred vision and fruity-smelling breath. This can be triggered by stress, illness, being less active or diet. It can be life threatening and develop quickly over a few hours.

Support in the workplace

If the signs are spotted quickly enough, the hypo can be treated by consuming food or beverage high in sugar, such as a non-diet fizzy drink. If the person is unable to swallow, seek medical help quickly, rather than trying to force them.

Insulin has to be injected. Two of the ways of taking it are:

• Insulin pens: small needles in the form of a pen that can be carried around with you, to inject insulin at appropriate times, such as after eating.
• Insulin pumps: a device that is attached to your body, via a small plastic tube that usually sits under your body. This provides continuous insulin and should not be disconnected for long periods of time.

If the person is unable to swallow, seek medical help quickly rather than trying to force them.