Almost 25% of all Americans 65 and older – some 13,525,000 men and women – have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. But another 4.7% –2,524,270 – have type 2 diabetes and don’t know it.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas can no longer make enough insulin, or when the insulin it does make can’t work properly. Left untreated, the high blood sugar levels that result can lead to severe digestive problems, eye problems (e.g., diabetes-related retinopathy), leg and foot ulcers, gum disease, kidney disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, nerve damage, urinary tract and bladder infections, sexual dysfunction, and strokes.
And it can all too easily go undetected and untreated for as long as ten years, for one very simple reason: Its early symptoms are very subtle and easy to shrug off as part of aging or to mistake for other chronic conditions.
These include
·An unusually high number of nighttime trips to the toilet
Feeling thirsty all the time
Feeling very tired
Losing weight without trying
Itchy skin, particularly in the genital area
Cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
Blurred vision
Frequent infections
Dry mouth
Irritability
Sweet breath
Bad teeth
Tingling or numbness in fingers or toes
Dark skin patches
Of course, a simple blood test as part of a routine physical exam can tell more about diabetes than any superficial signs.
Something similar is true with senior care. Too much of it is based only on physical, outward appearances. But there’s much more to it than that. Different people have different values and priorities, different schedules and lifestyles, different family and social lives, different schedules, hobbies and interests.
That’s why we go beyond superficialities with our thorough three-part assessment of a client’s physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychosocial care needs. The personal, inner, information we learn becomes the basis of a custom-tailored, coordinated plan that provides exactly the care our client needs to keep living as independently as possible, in the lifestyle they prefer, for as long as possible.
Please contact us to learn more about what a difference that can make.
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