Peripheral Edema And Diabetes

Peripheral Edema and Diabetes

Peripheral edema
is swelling from the collection of fluid in the feet, ankles, and legs. It can occur in one or both of your lower extremities. If you have diabetes, you need to take extra precautions when you have edema.
Edema is the result of damage to capillaries or increased pressure causing capillaries to leak fluid into surrounding tissues and result in swelling. People with diabetes often have circulation problems that can cause wounds to heal slowly or not at all.
Edema makes it more difficult for wounds to heal. Therefore, controlling edema is essential.
Causes
There are many common causes of edema that are fairly benign. Some examples of more common causes of peripheral edema, not specifically related to diabetes, include physical inactivity, standing or sitting for long periods of time, surgery, burns, hot weather, pregnancy, menstruation, menopause, contraceptive pills, certain medications, excessive salt intake, malnutrition, or a bad diet.
Edema may present in only one extremity (rather than both) due to deep venous thrombosis
(DVT), cellulitis, osteomyelitis, trauma, a ruptured Baker's cyst, or a lymphatic obstruction.
Peripheral edema can also be associated with more serious conditions—many of which can be associated with diabetes complications such as heart disease, venous insufficiency, liver disease, and kidney disease.
Certain diabetes medications can also cause edema, specifically the thiazolidinedione drugs Actos and Avandia.
These drugs have come under a cloud because of their potential cardiac adverse effects, and should not be used in anyone who h Continue reading

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Does diabetes make a heart attack feel different?

(Reuters Health) - People with diabetes may not always feel classic symptoms like acute chest pain when they have a heart attack, according to a small study that offers a potential explanation for why these episodes are more deadly for diabetics.
Researchers examined data from detailed interviews with 39 adults in the UK who had been diagnosed with diabetes and had also experienced a heart attack. Most of the participants reported feeling some chest pain, but they often said it didn’t feel like they expected or that they didn’t think it was really a heart attack.
“Long term diabetes damages your heart in many ways (increased blocking of the heart’s blood vessels), but it also damages your nerves,” said study co-author Dr. Melvyn Jones of University College London.
“So a bit like a diabetic might not feel the stubbing of their toe, they also feel less pain from damaged heart muscle when the blood supply gets cut off, so they don’t get the classical crushing chest pain of a heart attack,” Jones said by email.
People with diabetes are three times more likely to die from heart disease than the general population and possibly six times more likely to have a heart attack, Jones added.
All patients in the study received care at one of three hospitals in London, and they ranged in age from 40 to 90. Most were male, and roughly half were white.
The majority had what’s known as type 2 diabetes, which is tied to aging and obesity and happens when the body can’t properly use insulin to convert blood sugar into energy. Four of them had type 1 diabetes, a lifelong con Continue reading

Does Moderate Drinking Lower Your Risk of Diabetes?

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Is alcohol good or bad for your health? With no shortage of contradictory findings, it's understandable if you're left feeling like you've had a little too much to drink.
Now, new research from Denmark suggests that moderate levels of alcohol drinking — not binge drinking — may be linked to a lower risk of developing diabetes. But it's not just how much people drink, but how often they drink, that plays a role, the researchers said.
It's important to note, however, that most experts recommend that if you don't already drink alcohol, you shouldn't start because of possible health benefits.
In the study, published today (July 27) in the journal Diabetologia, researchers found that drinking alcohol three to four days a week was associated with a lower risk of diabetes compared with drinking less than one day a week. [7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health]
The "findings suggest that alcohol drinking frequency is associated with risk of diabetes, and that consumption of alcohol over three to four days per week is associated with the lowest risk of diabetes, even after taking average weekly alcohol consumption into account," the researchers, led by Charlotte Holst, a doctoral student of public health at the University of Southern Denmark, wrote.
Danish data
In the study, the researchers looked at data on more than 76,000 adults who participated in the Danish Health Examination Survey in 2007 to 2008. The people in the study filled out questionnaires about their drinking habits, including how much and how often they drank alcohol, and what type of alcohol they drank. Using i Continue reading

10 Early Warning Signs of Diabetes You Should Not Ignore

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disease characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. As of 2014, about 387 million people worldwide suffered from diabetes.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas is either not producing enough insulin or the cells are not able to respond properly to the insulin produced. There are three main types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes: Also known as juvenile diabetes, it occurs when the pancreas is not able to produce enough insulin.
It is considered an autoimmune disease. Factors that increase the risk of Type 1 diabetes are family history, exposure to viral illnesses, the presence of damaging immune system cells in the body, and low vitamin D levels.
Type 2 diabetes: This is the most common type of diabetes and occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to regulate the blood sugar or the cells are not able to use the insulin properly.
Obesity, an inactive lifestyle, family history, aging, history of gestational diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, high blood pressure, and abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels are some common risk factors for this type of diabetes.
Gestational diabetes: This occurs during or after pregnancy without any prior history of diabetes. Women older than age 25 and those who are African-American, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian are at a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes.
Family or personal history of this type of diabetes and obesity also increase a person’s risk.
As of 2014, about 90 percent of diabetic people had Type 2 diabetes, representing Continue reading

4. Prevention or Delay of Type 2 Diabetes

Patients with prediabetes should be referred to an intensive diet and physical activity behavioral counseling program adhering to the tenets of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) targeting a loss of 7% of body weight and should increase their moderate-intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking) to at least 150 min/week. A
Follow-up counseling and maintenance programs should be offered for long-term success in preventing diabetes. B
Based on the cost-effectiveness of diabetes prevention, such programs should be covered by third-party payers. B
Metformin therapy for prevention of type 2 diabetes should be considered in those with prediabetes, especially in those with BMI >35 kg/m2, those aged <60 years, and women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus. A
At least annual monitoring for the development of diabetes in those with prediabetes is suggested. E
Screening for and treatment of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease is suggested. B
Diabetes self-management education and support programs are appropriate venues for people with prediabetes to receive education and support to develop and maintain behaviors that can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. B
Technology-assisted tools including Internet-based social networks, distance learning, DVD-based content, and mobile applications can be useful elements of effective lifestyle modification to prevent diabetes. B
Lifestyle Modification
Randomized controlled trials have shown that individuals at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes (impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or both) Continue reading