Wrong ideas about diabetes!

1. Diabetes is contagious.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are disease of metabolism and are not contagious. Person cannot contract diabetes by contact with a person with diabetes.

2. All people with diabetes need insulin injections.

Whether or not a person with diabetes needs insulin injections depends on many factors, including the type of diabetes a person has. All people with type 1 diabetes need insulin and, later in the course of condition, many people with type 2 diabetes also have to use insulin to achieve target blood glucose levels.

3.Once a person with diabetes starts insulin therapy, it can never be stopped and can never return to oral therapy.

This is true of people with type 1 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes may need to take insulin for short length of time, such as during a period of stress, during an illness, infection or surgery, or when taking particular medications. However, as their own insulin production from the pancreas decreases over time, people with type 2 diabetes can also benefit from insulin in the longer term.

4. People with diabetes cannot eat sugar, but pure honey is not harmful.

Both honey and sugar can be taken in moderation in the diet of a person with diabetes, but people using insulin must remember to count them as part of their carbohydrate allowance.

5. Women with diabetes should not have babies-its too risky.

The key is to achieve very good blood glucose control before becoming pregnant and taking care to maintain that control throughout the pregnancy. Poor glucose control may lead to miscarriage or malformation in early pregnancy, and the risk of high blood pressure and having a baby prematurely is increased later in pregnancy. In addition, women with poorly controlled diabetes may have high birth weight babies, leading to associated problem at delivery.

This article was originally published on Practo Health Feed by Aparna Indoria.