Diabetic patients at greater risk for common infections

Most of us who are diabetic are well aware of the several really serious complications and risks that we might face in the longer term, possibilities that I hate to even think about, such as the increased risk of heart disease, vision loss, kidney failure. And there are others, but they are not inevitable and the worse can possibly be avoided if we can get our blood glucose levels under control.

Perhaps less serious but uncomfortable nevertheless

Diabetes is also associated with it a number of less serious but uncomfortable ailments that can easily be ignored and neglected and go untreated, at least for a while. And some of these occur more often in the case of the diabetic whose blood sugars are out of control. Being out of control describes the situation where the glucose levels in the blood are consistently above the accepted levels, not a good situation in any event.

In an earlier article, Diabetes and Dental Hygiene, reference was made to gum diseases in the mouth, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and thrush, a form of yeast infection also called candidiasis, usually the result of the high glucose levels that provides a ready source of nutrients for the many families of bacteria or fungi that can live in our bodies but are normally kept in check by our own disease fighting immune systems. But when the immune system is weakened it allows the bacteria to take over and a result is the infection.

Balinitis, another male diabetic yeast infection

There is another yeast infection, called Balinitis, to bring to your attention. Affecting male diabetics, not well known among doctors it seems, if my own personal experience is anything to go by. When I first described my irksome condition vividly to the doctor treating me for diabetes, he seemed unsure and then decided to send me to a urologist. After inspecting me, the urologist also seemed baffled and, from his comments was, I think, concerned it might be cancer related and so he cauterized it - what an experience that was! Can you imagine it?

Cauterization is the process of burning or searing an affected area by burning with a device, I think with an electric current in my case. I won’t elaborate here, but balanitis affects the male genital area, that reference will be enough for you to recognize whether you have it and I will leave you to look it up and get the details yourself.

Anyway, showing no improvement at the time of a follow up a week or two after the cauterization, the urologist pondered a while and then decided to send me to a dermatologist, fortunately practicing in the same building, who saw me the same day. When the dermatologist made his inspection he too was puzzled, did not recognize the condition, but finally after carefully peering at the appropriate area said, “I think it must be a yeast infection” and at that gave a prescription for an ointment that did help to a degree but the condition never totally disappeared.

A year or two later, when the condition flared up again I had by then used up all the ointment and had moved to a new town with a new doctor. Also I had identified the ailment myself when reading the diabetes literature. As soon as I asked my new doctor for ointment to treat my complaint known as balinitis, he immediately knew the condition and prescribed an ointment, an anti-fungal I believe, called. Miconazole Nitrate (MCL). That ointment has been fairly effective, the condition needs to be carefully watched, but it is much better.

In spite of my own experience with doctors, I read elsewhere that the condition should be recognized immediately and that treatment can clear it up in 3 to 5 days.

Caution

Balanitis does sometimes affect non-diabetics and there are some more serious forms of the disease. There is significantly more important information available than my brief and simple description given here and I urge anyone who is concerned to check more deeply into the condition and locate the full details relating to balanitis, or any other genital ailment for that matter,

Raising awareness

My purpose with this article is to raise awareness of such ailments so that if they should occur a doctor may be consulted without delay, minimizing the effects. And to again emphasize that diabetic patients are at greater risk for several such common infections, especially if blood glucose levels are elevated beyond normal for too long a period of time, allowing creation of an environment that enhances the growth of harmful organisms such as fungi, bacteria and viruses.

• Stop - 4 Things Not to Do When Testing Your Blood Glucose
• Diabetes Testing Supplies
• Effective Management of Diabetes
• What is a Normal Blood Sugar Level
• High Blood Sugar Symptoms - Don't Ignore the Warning Signs
• Natural Cure For Diabetes - Natural Treatments Information
• Why the Talk of a New Treatment For Diabetes is a Scary Thing to Me

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.