How Well Do You Know Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that prevents your body from processing insulin as it should. This is the most common type of diabetes and affects the lives of over 4 million South Africans. Not too long ago, this disease was referred to as adult-onset diabetes. However, with the rise in childhood obesity, many children and teenagers are being affected by this disease as well.
While many life insurance companies may turn their noses up at insuring individuals with this common lifestyle disease, some forward-thinking insurance providers do. With Specialised Life Cover, you can get quotes for life cover policies that can protect your family’s future.
What Is Type 2 Diabetes?
This chronic condition affects the way your body metabolises sugar (glucose), which the body typically uses as fuel. With type 2 diabetes, your body either resists insulin – a hormone that controls the movement of sugar into your body’s cells – or doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain normal glucose levels.
What’s The Difference Between Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes?
While both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are chronic diseases, they differ in how they deal with insulin in the body. A person with type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin at all. Meanwhile, a person with type 2 diabetes cannot respond to insulin very well, and as the disease progresses, their body often can’t make enough insulin.
Symptoms
Type 2 diabetes symptoms tend to appear gradually. Many people often don’t notice these symptoms when they first appear.
A person with this diabetes type may experience the following:
- Frequent urination
- Increased thirst
- Increased hunger
- Weight loss
- Fatigue / lack of energy
- Dry mouth
- Itchy skin
- Blurred vision
- Infections and sores
- Numbness and tingling in hands, arms, legs, and feet: due to poor circulation and nerve damage.
- Dental problems, including infections of the mouth and red, inflamed gums.
Treatment
Doctors can diagnose diabetes with a quick blood test that measures blood glucose levels. If you have recently experienced any of the above symptoms, you should make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
Treatment for diabetes aims to keep blood glucose levels stable at a healthy level. Unfortunately, there is no cure for diabetes, but you can manage this disease through lifestyle changes as well as diabetes medications or insulin therapy.
These include:
- Taking medications or insulin as the doctor recommends
- Following a healthy diet
- Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight and body mass index (BMI)
- Doing physical activity (at least 30 minutes per day)
- Getting enough sleep
- Avoiding or quitting smoking
Despite its rather dire complications, a diabetes diagnosis, whether type 1 or type 2, is far from a death sentence. Many people with diabetes live full and happy lives. Life insurance companies are waking up to this too. Where many insurance policies once discriminated against diabetics, there are plenty nowadays, who are happy to insure people living with diabetes. Get a quote today and protect your family’s tomorrows!