Monday, April 6, 2020

CNBC explores why coronavirus is more dangerous for diabetics

As a Type I diabetic, I suffer from one of the health conditions that makes COVID-19 outcomes worse.  My wife and I have been wondering why that's the case.*  CNBC has the answer in Why Coronavirus Is Dangerous For Diabetics.

Coronavirus can be terrifying for an average healthy person but what about those who are considered “high risk.” The Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization state those at higher risk for the worst outcomes for the virus are older adults and people with chronic illnesses like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes.
CNBC explores why is coronavirus more dangerous for diabetics.
So, the short version is that for Type I diabetics like myself, high blood sugar suppresses the immune system and reduces healing, while for Type II diabetes, there is already low-grade inflammation that COVID-19 makes worse.  That makes sense to me, so I'm glad I watched the video.  I hope my readers learned something from it, too.

*I actually suffer from three of them.  In addition to diabetes, I am 60 years old and an asthmatic.  Even though I have written about asthma, I've never mentioned my asthma before on this blog.  That's probably because I've had it since I was a child and it hasn't bothered me much this century except during the rare occasions when I have an infection and develop bronchitis.  Now, the coronavirus pandemic has made it important again.

8 comments:

  1. Type II here, and the wife is asthmatic. We are 58 and 49 respectively. Those are the reasons we decided to hunker down in Guatemala rather than risk infection in airports and (shudder) planes. Stay safe and keep washing those hands.

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    1. I don't blame you. "Stay safe and keep washing those hands" — good advice!

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  2. That was educational. I had no idea that as many as 450 million people have diabetes.

    And of course those oblivious jackasses who keep packing themselves into churches or beaches because they think the rules don't apply to them, putting themselves at risk, are putting you at risk as well.

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    1. I'm glad you learned something from the video. I know I did!

      I second your emotion in the second paragraph. They are putting me at risk!

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  3. If you're taking Metformin, don't let anyone give you Hydroxychloroquine, either. http://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/04/05/researchers-warn-that-covid-19-treatment-touted-by-trump-may-be-toxic-when-combined-with-diabetes-drug/?fbclid=IwAR3Lyo63qJps6OjGC8QJwZJhsY7HQXtFA7WvFv2JPu-EB1bG6s_brGRGjAo

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  4. Hoo boy, good things to know.
    I am one of those cases where the doctors don't treat me like I'm fully diabetic but they have me taking Metformin once a day. The lab results I've seen - just gotten one last week! - have it listed as "diabetes (controlled)", and otherwise the doctors tell me my immune system is healthy. Still, the COVID-19 situation worries me, I have concerns about sleep apnea that affects my lung strength. :/

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