Impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the Family. Health, Medicine Essay

Impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the Family
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Impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the Family
Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases today. However, it should be noted that there are two distinct forms of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. While Type 1 Diabetes is mainly genetic and appears most commonly in adolescence, Type 2 Diabetes is a lifestyle disease. Regardless of these differences, doctors have been subjected to significant difficulty when attempting to diagnose Diabetes in young patients (Loring & Gray, 2006). The diagnosis is vital because it affects the direction that individuals take with respect to their treatment. At the same time, this also affects how families operate whenever one member develops Type 2 Diabetes (Schultz & Sherwood, 2017). This essentially means that families have to undergo a great deal of adjustment whenever one of their members develops any type of Diabetes and particularly Type 2 Diabetes. The fact that Type 2 Diabetes is a lifestyle disease means that the family has to completely transform its lifestyle in order to accommodate the diagnosed family member (Thomas & Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, 2017).
As far as Type 2 Diabetes is concerned, it clearly emerges that there are numerous issues that patients and their families have to go through. The first and most prevalent negative impact of living with a family member suffering from this kind of Diabetes is financial strain (Ferro & Boyle, 2014). Across America, the number of uninsured or underinsured individuals has remained quite high in recent years. Similarly, the obesity rates among such populations indicate an increasing trend that portends a dark future for these individuals and their families (Thomas & Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, 2017). In essence, the likelihood of the uninsured or underinsured developing Type 2 Diabetes is quite high. Furthermore, the possibility that such a population can afford Diabetes treatment and its associated costs is quite low, which further points to the likelihood of such families enduring significant financial strain whenever one of them develops Type 2 Diabetes (Martire & Helgeson, 2017).
At the same time, it is also important to note that like many other chronic illnesses, Diabetes can be managed if appropriate measures are taken. In most instances, this is in the form of healthier eating habits and diets for the patient (Loring & Gray, 2006). For most families, this provides an opportunity for the members to collectively support the ill one by transforming their diet and even engaging in exercise. While this can be difficult at the beginning, many families tend to transition into a healthier and more considerate diet even when they indulge (Schultz & Sherwood, 2017). The desire to keep the ill family member feeling like a part of the family strongly motivates many households to transform their diets. In this way, the entire family benefits greatly from having a member with Type 2 Diabetes in the short, medium, and long term.
It is critical to remember that Type 2 Diabetes can be detrimental to health and even fatal if poorly managed. This is one of the most pertinent issues that families with a loved one suffering from the illness have to face (Ferro & Boyle, 2014). The possibility that the sick family member could die or develop Diabetes-related complications at any time always puts the family on edge. This essentially results in the entire family living in a perennial state of anxiety (though sometimes it is relaxed anxiety) about the fate of their loved one. This is only worsened when family members have to support their loved one when they undergo surgical operations or even amputations (Schultz & Sherwood, 2017). The result is a family that is mentally and emotionally drained...