Long-Term Care

Understanding diabetes

LTC Nursing Assistant Trainer, September 10, 2009

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Diabetes is a disease that changes the way a resident’s body uses food. It causes the level of sugar in the blood to be too high, which harms blood vessels and major organs over time. In a healthy body, an organ called the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone. Insulin helps the body’s cells use glucose to produce energy. In someone with diabetes, either the pancreas is not producing enough insulin (this is known as Type 1 diabetes) or the body does not use its insulin effectively (Type 2 diabetes). The cells cannot turn sugar into energy and as a result the sugar builds up in the blood. Treatment is possible through diet, exercise, medication, and monitoring, with the goal being to keep the individual’s blood sugar at as normal a level as possible. Doing this will lower the person’s risk of:

  • Stroke
  • Heart disease
  • Kidney failure
  • Stomach disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Eye disease, loss of vision, or blindness
  • Nerve damage, with pain or loss of feeling in hands, feet, legs, or other areas of the body

This is an excerpt from HCPro’s book, The CNA Training Solution, Second Edition.



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