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Diabetic Exams and Risks of Complications
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It is crucial to obtain medical care on a regular basis in order to lower the risk of diabetic complications. These are some tests a person with diabetes should have on a regular basis.
In this country, the disease of diabetes, increasing in frequency, is just about at the proportions of an epidemic. Just about every body organ is affected by this condition. So that you won’t have a lot of the problems associated with diabetes, it is vital to keep your sugar controlled, and be under a doctor’s care, to reduce the chance of having problems with diabetes. All diabetics require certain exams and tests to maintain their health. These five crucial exams for diabetic care should not be passed over.
Eye exam
There is already some amount of retinopathy present with most diabetics, when first diagnosed with diabetes. The progression of this type of disease of the eye must be monitored by regular eye exams, as this could eventually cause blindness. Every year a dilated eye exam needs to be done by an ophthalmologist after the first eye exam. Do not ignore this one test. Your ability to see could hang in the balance.
Hemoglobin A1C Level
A hemoglobin A1C level tests the blood sugar to find out what the levels have been in the last three to four months. When hemoglobin A1C levels test high, there is an even bigger chance of developing complications from diabetes. In order to make certain that there is adequate control of the levels of the blood sugar, every four months this blood test needs to be checked.
Lipid profile
It is vital for everybody to get a lipid profile, but even more vital for people with diabetes to have their lipids tested because they have a greater risk of having heart problems. More than 65% of deaths in diabetics relate to heart disease, so it is important to use prevention. The risk of heart attack, heart disease, or other serious health problems can be reduced by keeping triglyceride and cholesterol levels in a normal range, by monitoring them carefully. This test should be performed yearly at a minimum and more often if results are not normal.
Urinalysis
Every six months a urinalysis needs to be done to see if there is protein in the urine. Diabetic nephropathy is when diabetes has affected the kidneys. When albumin or urine protein is present in the urine, detection can occur in the early stages. It is possible that you could have diabetic nephropathy, even if you are asymptomatic, thus you should use urinalysis as a necessary screening tool.
Foot Exam
Diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage in the feet, is a common condition that diabetics suffer from. Diabetics are also more likely to get peripheral vascular disease, which leads to decreased blood flow and circulation in the lower extremities. Minor cuts and abrasions will not heal as fast if there is less blood flow, making the probability of infection much larger. Infections can be hard to heal if the blood circulation is bad, causing gangrene, and the foot might need to be cut off. Neuropathy in diabetics causes nerve inflammation, decreasing the feelings in the feet and if an unknown infection occurs it might be too late to do anything about it. Diabetics may get infections that are fungal in the feet, and additionally other types of problems with them. Because of this, an exam of the feet should be done each year.
Risks of complications that are serious can be lowered, when the time is taken to obtain these diabetic exams on a regular basis. These crucial health checkups must not be neglected.
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September 29, 2009 -
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