Introduction - Awareness of Diabetes

As the world's diabetes capital, India has around 77 million people who are affected with this chronic diseases and the numbers are only expected to touch an exponential figure by 2025. Every sixth person with diabetes in the world is an Indian, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. Per the WHO, diabetes as a condition "occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. This leads to increased glucose concentration in the blood (hyperglycemia)."

The rising cases of diabetes, also known as "the sugar disease", especially in the age group of 20 and 70 years, is due to many factors like sedentary lifestyles, a poor and unhealthy diet, and tobacco and alcohol use/abuse. Also, the number of cases is higher in urban areas when compared to rural areas. The exponential rise in diabetes cases is truly alarming and a great concern for public health.

Diabetes - Types, Risks, and Implications

There are two kinds of diabetes,

1. Type 1 Diabetes was earlier known as insulin-dependent or childhood-onset diabetes and was specifically characterized by a lack of insulin production. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune reaction that destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, called beta cells.

2. Type 2 Diabetes, also known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes, results from a lack of physical inactivity and excess body weight and is specifically characterized by the body's ineffective use of insulin.

There is gestational diabetes which is hyperglycemia traced during pregnancy that could lead to serious health concerns for both the mother and the child.

Being overweight and obese are immediate risk factors responsible for diabetes.

Preventing Diabetes with Wellness and Health

The burden of diabetes is high and increasing globally and in developing economies like India, mainly fueled by the increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity and unhealthy lifestyle. The diabetes burden can be prevented and delayed with the right interventions of ensuring a healthy diet, regular exercise, monitoring of blood glucose levels, and optimal lifestyle management of blood pressure, weight, and lipid levels.

Managing Diabetes and its Complications

It is very important for diabetic patients and their caregivers to be aware of complications that can arise due to diabetes and be alert to spot the first symptoms of any possible health condition before they develop and explode into something that can go out of hand. It is, in fact, quite common for diabetics to develop complications a few years into diabetes as much as they can delay them. The complications range from Alzheimer's Disease to glaucoma and diabetes, Diabetic ketoacidosis, kidney disease, cancer, diarrhea, cholesterol issues, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and foot ailments.

Health Insurance and Diabetes

Treating diabetes and its allied complications for a prolonged period of time can be a huge drain on savings and family wealth with increased medical costs and yearly inflation. Also, you cannot rule out the chances of hospitalization. Sadly, this chronic health condition can, at best, be managed because it is non-curable. However, diabetes can be prevented with a diabetes-friendly diet, regular exercise, following routine care, timely meals and medication, and lowering stress. Hence, taking health insurance with diabetes coverage is the need of the hour this World Diabetes Day. As awareness of diabetes goes up significantly on World Diabetes Day, it only makes sense to sit and parse through the kind of complete coverage you would want to opt for during a medical emergency. Health insurance with complete coverage for diabetes will include

- cashless hospitalization

- pre and post-hospitalization expenses,

- annual health check-ups

- day care treatment

- no claim bonus

- pre-existing disease

While a lot of people with diabetics just about manage the health condition with medication and lifestyle changes, we should not wait for the worst health emergency to pop up, and we are caught unprepared.

Conclusion - Get the Best Quote

Managing diabetes with the right health insurance , which acts as the necessary financial backup, is the need of the hour for diabetics. Once diagnosed with diabetes, your doctor will likely put you on a strict regime of diet, medicines, and exercise with constant monitoring of blood sugar levels through lab tests.

A general health insurance policy entails a waiting period for pre-existing diseases before you can even begin making claim's. Some health insurance plans could have sub-limits or a co-pay system. Also, premiums can go up depending on the age of the applicant. It is imperative to double-check with the insurance provider to understand policy terms and eligibility criteria for full coverage of your diabetes management and which plans work well to manage expenses.

Typically, in health policies offered by employers, an employee and their family (by extension) get covered from day one. However, one cannot rely on it indefinitely because all this holds true so long they are employed with that organization.

Diabetes and its complications can end up putting life in serious jeopardy, and diabetes patients especially require immediate medical assistance in times of a medical emergency. Hence, choose and opt for a plan that offers full coverage for diabetes-related treatment and costs, a good network of hospitals with cashless facilities.

References:

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
2. https://www.indiatoday.in/information/story/world-diabetes-day-why-is-india-the-world-capital-for-diabetes-1740874-2020-11-14
3. https://www.indiatoday.in/health/story/type-1-diabetes-india-icmr-guidelines-treatment-symptoms-insulin-1959406-2022-06-07
4. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/diabetes-complications.html
5. https://www.livemint.com/science/health/government-survey-found-11-8-prevalence-of-diabetes-in-india-11570702665713.html