Happy November! It’s finally time to break out your North Faces, beanies, and boots (although let’s face it Collegiettes, we’ve been rocking those since September). It’s time to start getting pumped for the highly anticipated UF rivalry game! Prepare yourself for the colder weather, as well as the weekly bonfires and beautiful foliage that come with it.
And don’t forget to be blue, the official color of National Diabetes Awareness Month.
November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, a time to educate yourselves about both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. What’s the difference? When most people hear the word “diabetes,” they think of an overweight grandparent who has to prick their finger a few times a day, and avoid sweets at all costs. That’s type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that is usually diagnosed in a younger person. This person’s immune system feels the need to attack the pancreas, making it unable to produce insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar. It is believed to be genetic. Basically, just like you may have curly hair or blue eyes, some people, (like me), may have type 1 diabetes. (And for the record, we’re totally allowed to have sweets).
I won’t leave the type 2 diabetics out of this, especially considering that according to Project Blue November, 90-94% of all of the people diagnosed with diabetes are diagnosed with type 2. When left untreated, both types of diabetes have unwanted consequences. Consistently high blood sugars damage the small blood vessels in the eyes, making diabetes the leading cause of new cases in blindness in diabetics, from age 20 all the way to age 74. Damage to larger blood vessels also occurs, which often results in foot amputation. Kidney damage, dry skin, tooth decay, and even erectile dysfunction are just some of the other common long-term effects, if the diabetes is not meticulously cared for.
So much has been done to help diabetics since it was discovered in 1921 that humans could use purified insulin from cattle. Insulin is NOT a cure; it is a medication that must be administered every time a type 1 diabetic consumes anything with carbs. Until the insulin pump entered the market in the 1980s, all type 1 diabetics injected insulin with a needle every time they ate. Insulin pumps still aren’t the easiest to obtain, because many insurance companies don’t cover them. The pump alone costs no less than $4,500 without insurance, not to mention the cost of the supplies that it requires. (I could go on for hours about how insurance companies act like a business and take advantage of patients who are in dire need of medical attention but can’t afford it, but you probably don’t want to hear that).
The insulin pump is always attached to the wearer. It distributes insulin through a tube injected into the body. Source: www.medtronic-diabetes.co.nz
I definitely don’t want to ignore the advancement that’s been made in curing type 1 diabetes. Thanks to tons of advocacy, education, and research, there has been a lot of progress in the type 1 diabetes world. Replacing the beta cells that are supposed to produce insulin is something that’s becoming a reality, and plans are underway to test a vaccine in mice.
But help is definitely still needed. How exactly can YOU help? Well, you already made the first step. You educated yourself by reading this article. Congrats! Share it with your friends, and educate them about diabetes – BOTH types, and their differences. Make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) HERE.
Change your profile picture or cover photo on Facebook to the blue circle, a symbol of National Diabetes Awareness Month… or at least do so on November 14th, World Diabetes Day. Participate in JDRF’s annual Walk To Cure Diabetes right here in Tallahassee in April.
Help make the dream of millions of Gen Y type 1s come true, the dream that type 1 diabetes professionals have always told us: that there will be a cure in our lifetime.
The blue circle, the universal symbol for diabetes. Source: diabetesbluecircle.org
Sources: http://www.projectbluenovember.com/
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/insulin/discovery-insulin.html