It is a well known fact that having a pet can be good for your health, especially if you are diabetic. Pets are visitors in children’s wards in hospitals, in adult wards, and in nursing and extend a care facilities. No matter what the age, pets are welcomed when they are brought to visit. It is a well known fact that having a pet can be good for your health. Some of the complications diabetics face unfortunately are with heart, kidney, high blood pressure, just to name a few. Having a pet whether it is a cat or dog can be beneficial to you in these areas.
Who better to take you on a daily walk than your dog. No matter what the size, a dog needs exercise, and exercise is high on your priority list isn’t it? A better companion you could not ask for. They listen with such intent to all you have to say, and encourage you on. My pet is a small dog, has lots of energy and knows when it is “walk time”. He is as set in his routine as I am. Rain, shine, sleet, or snow, Rapper is always ready “to go”.
It is a proven fact that animals have a calming effect on people. I know my “Rapper” senses if I am off color, or having a down day, and does his best to get me going in a different direction. Taking time out, and just sitting and patting him does wonders. I have three cats as well, and they are “love to sit on your lap” kind, and they love to purr. Cuddles is a talker, and purrs the loudest. At night I go to sleep to her “music”.
Doctors say that listening to a cat purr can be good for the heart and blood pressure. Sometimes we need motivation to keep our routine active, so we can enjoy that feeling of well being. My pets help do this for me. Stress times are fewer, I am calmer and don’t over react to situations, which help keep my blood pressure in check. All in all I feel in many ways my pets are a big plus when it comes to managing my diabetes.
Having a well trained, obedient pet makes for a happy situation all around. So far I have been fortunate, my pets have been easy to train. and they have no bad habits, except cuddles can talk just a little too much and sometimes she gets to be a little annoying, and I have to tell her “quiet”. Having a young puppy is much easier to train, and you have a better chance of correcting any bad habits. The right pet soon becomes a member of the family, bringing added joy and happiness. I highly recommend having pets.
By: Norma Burns
Posts Tagged ‘High Blood Pressure’
Diabetes and Pets
April 1st, 2010Complications Associated With Diabetes
March 27th, 2010
Controlling diabetes involves managing one’s diet and level of physical activity. This is not something most people enjoy doing. It is easy to cheat on diet and equally easy to skip the exercise. However, if people who have diabetes aren’t proactive, they can invite many undesirable consequences.
In comparison with the non-diabetic population, diabetics are more likely to develop kidney diseases, become blind, have a heart attack or have a stroke.
Six out of every ten diabetics are vulnerable to nerve damage often referred to as diabetic neuropathy. While there are many types of nerve damage such as damage to nerves that control walking, damage to autonomic nerves and damage to sensory nerves, diabetes usually damages sensory nerves.
This nerve damage most often occurs in the legs and feet although sometimes it is felt in the arms. When it happens, the person feels a tingling sensation, pain or numbness or perhaps all three. With less feeling in the limbs, it is easy to injure a foot without being aware of it. Sometimes the nerve damage in the foot causes an ulcer and the foot has to be amputated.
Nephropathy or kidney damage is another complication arising from diabetes. Your kidneys contain blood vessels that filter waste from your blood and excrete it in your urine. By the time any symptoms arise, the disease is usually in an advanced stage. Symptoms are: swelling of ankles, feet, and hands; dry, itchy skin; high blood pressure; fatigue; nausea and vomiting; poor appetite, shortness of breath and fatigue. Since these are also symptoms of other diseases, screening is necessary to identify the presence of kidney disease. Lack of treatment can lead to kidney failure and diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in the United States.
Diabetes can also cause eye injury or retinopathy.
The blood vessels in the retina are easily damaged by high blood sugar levels. Retinopathy is quite common in patients who have had diabetes for more than twenty years. It is important to have regular eye examinations to identify problems before they become serious. There are various treatments that can improve vision especially in the early stages. However, in some cases this may not happen. Amongst American adults, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness.
Diabetics are at a much higher risk for developing heart problems than the rest of the population. They are particularly vulnerable to asymptomatic heart attacks or heart attacks that occur suddenly without warning. Diabetics can reduce their chances of heart problems by keeping a healthy weight, following a proper diet, and exercising regularly.
Diabetes also interferes with the function of your immune system. It lowers the ability of your immune cells to fight off invaders which increase your risk of developing various infections.
In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, long-term studies have been conducted to explore the relationship between blood sugar levels and the danger of complications. These studies all concluded that those people who did the best job of managing their blood sugar levels had the least problems with complications. So the key factor is the patient. Those diabetics who take the most active role in tightly controlling their blood sugar levels are most likely to either avoid or reduce the severity of complications.
By: Brenda Williams
Diabetes and Pregnant Women
March 22nd, 2010
There are two important issues regarding diabetes and pregnancy. The first concerns the diabetic who wants to conceive and carry a healthy baby to full term and delivery (pre-existing diabetes). And the second issue involves the development of gestational diabetes in a woman who previously showed no sign of the disease.
For the first issue: It is important that any woman with pre-existing diabetes, who either wants to conceive or finds herself pregnant, strictly control her glucose levels, this is particularly important in the early months of pregnancy. The risks of serious birth defects are increased by poor control of pre-existing diabetes, and it is also suggested to be a major cause of miscarriage.
Those women who develop gestational diabetes usually have no increased risk for birth defects although it is important that glucose levels be carefully monitored and controlled to reduce the risk of stillbirth.
All female diabetics who are pregnant tend to deliver much larger babies than the average. It is known that the babies grow larger because some of the additional sugar from the mother passes through the umbilical cord into the blood stream of the baby. Insulin then converts this sugar into fat cells. In many cases, these large babies have to be delivered by caesarian section as they are too large for a vaginal delivery.
Provided diabetes is properly controlled there is no reason why diabetic women should not enjoy uncomplicated pregnancies and deliver healthy babies. It is when the diabetes is not controlled that complication can happen. Unfortunately, these complications can lead to miscarriage, high blood pressure, premature delivery, and stillbirth.
Pregnant women who have pre-existing diabetes are given a blood test to measure the level of glycosylated haemoglobin before conception. This blood test provides an accurate measure of how well glucose levels have been controlled in the preceding months, and it can indicate the safest time to conceive. This test can also be used throughout the pregnancy to measure how well the diabetes is being controlled.
The current recommendation is for all women to take folic acid before conceiving to avoid the baby developing with neural tube defects. This advice is particularly important for diabetic women as diabetes can increase the risk of this type of birth defect.
Currently, oral medications used to control type 2 diabetes are not approved for use during pregnancy. For this reason, women who are using these drugs will need to switch to insulin before conceiving and during pregnancy.
Most pregnant women are tested for gestational diabetes at some stage between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. Those who develop this gestational diabetes normally discover that blood glucose levels return to normal after the birth of the baby.
Moderate exercise is believed to help cells make better use of available insulin and is recommended during pregnancy.
Blood sugar levels must be monitored carefully during pregnancy as insulin requirements can vary significantly from those required before conception. Urine can also be checked for ketones as the presence of these can be an indication that the diabetes is not being adequately controlled.
For both the safety of the mother and the baby, it is important that all precautions be taken when diabetes is found in the mother. Failure to do so can lead to devastating problems.
By: Jeremy Parker
