The World Diabetes Day is an important vehicle for all countries to ensure that people know the true magnitude of the problem of diabetes, a disease that currently affects approximately 220 million people, according to official figures published on the site WHO web.

How could it be otherwise, the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon issued a message in the context of World Diabetes Day, which was published in full in the official website of the international organization.

The chief said that this disease, characterized by having your blood sugar levels high, killing more than a million people a year, mostly in developing nations, as published by the UN Web.

According to this website, Ki-moon said the United Nations its full support to countries that are facing the challenges of diabetes and asked that the international community and international agencies also give support to countries development.

To end this note, it would be good to answer the following question: why this celebration takes place on the 14th of November? Well, in that same date, but the year 1891, was born Canadian physician Frederick Grant Banting, one of the researchers who discovered the hormone insulin, which years later won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this discovery.

The truth, we can say that diabetes is an epidemic, since according to IDF (International Diabetes Federation) have it about 246 million people worldwide, a tremendous figure.

But for those who wonder what diabetes is, we can say that it is a chronic disease that is characterized by blood sugar levels high. To counter this excess sugar, diabetics (some, we) have to take insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas and is necessary for life.

There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. The first is between young people, usually less than 35 years, and are characterized by people who are unable to produce insulin in their pancreas. For its part, the type 2 diabetes, was among older people, usually brought about by hyperglycemia.

We consider an epidemic of diabetes as being a very common disease. There are factors that contribute to the onset of diabetes, such as sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, obesity or poor nutrition. It is essential to a healthy diet, exercising and controlling blood glucose levels to be aware of health.

Diabetes can be prevented by following these little tips, on the other hand, are nothing new, because regardless of the disease we want to avoid or prevent, are practices that we must always do to lead a healthy life, I am referring mainly to what I said before, that is, a healthy diet and exercise.

In short, the relationship between diabetes and the epidemic is something that we must begin to consider and take into account. It is a disease that once you have it, not loose, and this is most disturbing. Hence the importance to prevent it before getting it.

Thus the continuous blood sampling is not always the annoying and painful matter, should make diabetes a few things before and while they control themselves. With a gentle pricking of the blood collection is far more relaxed.

When do you measure
How often blood glucose should be monitored on a case generally depends on the diabetes therapy. Additional blood sugar provisions may be particularly important, however, in special situations. For example, if signs of hypoglycaemia or a disease that is associated with fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Also in sports, travel, before a long car ride or a change in diet may be important that people know their blood glucose levels and responds appropriately to changes.

Fear of discomfort
The need for blood sugar measurements in diabetes therapy is controversial. Yet many fear affected pain during stinging, calluses or impairment of sensation in his fingers. Often triggers even from the sight of “naked” lancet fear. Modern lancing devices, in which the lancet is not visible, can contribute greatly to lose that fear.

How
This pain can be largely avoided with the right approach. Therefore, it is helpful to know that there are at the fingertip – the most common site of blood collection – places which are sensitive to pain than others. The reason is that the nerve receptors in the skin are not evenly distributed: At your fingertips, for example, bales are significantly more nerve fibers than on the lateral fingers. Therefore, it hurts the least, if you prefer to lateral fingertip blood sample. There is, incidentally, the blood supply to most, so there are not unnecessarily deep and painful sting to be.

Small tips make it easier to trade fairs
To further facilitate the measurement it is advisable to wash your hands and then rub with a towel – we promote circulation. The finger should not be squeezed too much, if not immediately leak blood. The resulting tissue fluid could be leaking is likely to distort value. If no blood, should the puncture depth of the lancing device to be changed. Even with the first drop of blood glucose can be measured. In contrast to the earlier views, it is totally unnecessary to wipe away the first drop.

Just prick as deep as necessary
The deeper you pricks in the skin, the more blood vessels are taken. With the depth increases, the number of nerve fibers – and therefore the pain this -. Lancing devices, which allow adjustment of puncture depth of the individual skin thickness, helping therefore absolutely crucial in reducing the pain this. Middle, ring finger and little finger are the most appropriate finger for blood collection, because small injuries to disrupt the thumb and index finger handles many more. Pressure on the puncture site to prevent bleeding of small blood sample that could later hurt when touched.

The only way you can know if you are controlling your diabetes is through self-monitoring, that means you have to sting your finger at least once a day. This procedure is uncomfortable for people with diabetes because it is painful, but here we offer a guide to hurt a little less:

• Wash your hands with warm water to increase blood flow to the fingers.

• Before the puncture, stretch your arm down and squeeze the tip of the finger to swell with blood. • Sink your finger to the side and not in the center. The fingertips have many nerve endings which causes the needle hurt more. If you make one side feel a picket smaller because you do not have much feeling in that area.

• Before taking the fingerstick, extend your arm downward and pull the tip of the finger to swell with blood.

• Use both sides of every finger, rotating the sites, so that each finger touches the puncture less frequently.

• Preferred acquires a meter that requires less blood.

Do not ask for ID and is free, said Krista Coffee, deputy director of the Northwest Arkansas office of the American Diabetes Association (ADA for its acronym in English).

Spanish translators will be 12 and there will be information available in English and Spanish, said Lori Bramlett, regional director of ADA.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce enough insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for living. Its causes are a mystery.

Diabetes can be Type 1, which strikes children and adolescents, and Type 2, which is associated with age, obesity, family history, history of diabetes during pregnancy, low glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race or ethnicity.

The Diabetes Expo will run tests to detect the disease. Among the tests to be carried is the ATC takes a drop of blood from the patient’s finger and in five minutes indicates sugar levels. Another test is the glucose test also requires a small sample of blood and cholesterol tests.

There will also be nutritionists and the opportunity to do physical exercises with music, including the visit of Al “Papa Rap” Lopez.

Another test being developed for type 1 diabetes are looking for specific antibodies (immune system proteins that attack foreign substances) present only in people with diabetes. This test can detect the type 1 diabetes at an early stage, reducing the risk of complications of the disease.

Once diabetes is diagnosed, treatment consists of controlling the amount of glucose in the blood and prevent complications. Depending on the type of diabetes, this can be achieved through regular exercise, a carefully controlled diet and medication.

Diabetes mellitus differs from the less common diabetes insipidus, which is caused by the lack of the hormone vasopressin that controls the amount of urine secreted.

Diabetes is more common in adults over 45 years of age, in people who are overweight or physically inactive, in individuals who have a close relative with diabetes and in people of African, Hispanic, and Native American descent. The highest rate of diabetes in the world occurs in the Native Americans. More women than men have been diagnosed with the disease.

Approximately 25 to 35 percent of diabetes patients follow a control on his problem, which means that a large majority of patients do not, at least in the right way.

In order to raise awareness about the importance of diabetes patient education and that it deals with the problem of health holistically, in Mexico City took place on 26 May, the first International Summit for Patient Education Diabetes. The meeting was organized by the Mexican National Association of Diabetes Educators (ANMED), and was attended by representatives of similar organizations in England, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

During the presentation of the meeting, Patricia González Monroy, ANMED president said that to be recognized as a diabetes educator must be a health professional and be supported by Mexican Diabetes Federation, the only entity that can certify to counsel education and communication in the field, in order to make discussions on prevention and care of their own illness and now there are two thousand educators in the field in Mexico.

Monroy Gonzalez said the association president is also concerned about the education of physicians caring for people afflicted by diabetes, which is directed through conferences and workshops nationwide. “The approach we take to meetings with doctors is that treatment must be comprehensive, interdisciplinary, to be clear that should involve both nutritionists, as ophthalmologists, nephrologists, dermatologists or whoever that the patient needed to prevent or delay chronic complications, while improving its quality and life expectancy. Thus, education is not about treatment, but as part of it. ”

Current epidemiological picture
Dr. Rosa Maria Aguilar Tlapala responsible for ANMED educational materials, reported that each year the consequences of diabetes leading to death more than 35 million patients worldwide, resulting in 60 percent of all deaths in the world.

He also explained that today there are 285 million adults with diabetes, between 20 and 79, and 344 million other glucose intolerant, ie your blood sugar rises above normal after eating but can be regularized without assistance, this does not mean that the illness, but your risk is high. That same age group will have 438 million people affected by diabetes in 2030 and 472 million more will be intolerant to glucose.

Also, Aguilar said Tlapala International Summit aims to update the health professionals who support the care and education of patients with diabetes, through workshops in which participants exchange experiences.

Mexico now ranks tenth in the world in number of diabetes patients with 6.8 million and is expected to reach in 2030 to seventh place with 11.9 million. In this regard, Dr. Sashko Dunkerley, director cardiometabolic Medical Laboratories Novartis, pointed out that there are indications that genetic mixing of different races more aggressive disease in the Mexican population, and that can manifest from an early age and act on body rapidly.

The person must not only take care with the amount of grams of sugar you eat during the day, but also have to eat less carbohydrates. What this means is that the person can not eat many foods containing white flour. There are many products on the market that are made for diabetics. In the U.S. products are called “Sugar Free” or “Sugar Free.” These products have artificial sugar content has no calories but gives the sweet taste to food.

Exercise is another very important thing in the treatment of diabetes. First of all is important because in most cases of diabetes, you should lose some kilos and exercise is very important in this procedure. Exercise also affects insulin levels produced by the body.

Sometimes it may persist after birth and is associated with increased maternal disorders (hypertension or high blood pressure, vaginal infections and urinary tract, premature delivery and caesarean) and serious harm to the baby (macrosomia fetal death, ie overgrowth of the product because it is exposed to more glucose than usual this is because it stimulates your pancreas secretes insulin abundance increases their development, which can lead to injury at the time of passing through the birth canal .)

Pregnancy is a metabolic stress on the body of the mother because the baby uses their bodies for food (energy), oxygen and eliminating waste. For this reason, the woman who becomes pregnant is more likely a deficiency of the hormone that allows sugar or glucose is used by the cell (insulin), causing difficulty breathing.