A diagnosis for the whole family: living with someone with diabetes
If you’ve had a child diagnosed with diabetes, you’ll know: this is a life-changing illness, and not just for them. Here we look at how the whole family can help someone manage the condition.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes means you have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy – but is it a precursor of Type 2 diabetes? And will it affect your baby?
Is your lifestyle making you sick? Determine your diabetes risk {Infographic}
Many everyday lifestyle decisions can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Here’s how these often unnoticed lifestyle risk factors add up to skyrocket your diabetes risk.
Don’t ignore these unusual signs of potentially serious conditions
Fatty deposits around your eyes? Skin discolouration? Pale nails? Here are a few symptoms you should get checked out – even if they seem insignificant.
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To ensure sterility, our surgical instruments are twice wrapped in sterile fabric.
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Nurses can observe patients at all times as critical care units are designed like a beehive with the nurses’ station in the middle.
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Our nursing units are designed to minimise the distance between nursing staff and patients.
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Mediclinic trains more than a thousand nurses annually at training centres throughout Southern Africa.
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Our hospitals have been awarded international accreditation for best practice in the management of environmental systems and practices.
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Our corridors are 2.3m wide allowing two beds to pass one another without any interference.
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Trauma patients with a critically low temperature will often be wrapped in a space blanket to reduce heat loss.
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A jumping rope uses almost every muscle in the entire body during exercise.
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We found a practical solution to a shortage of theatre nurses by becoming a registered teaching institution.
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We have backup generators for our backup generators so that we can provide uninterrupted expert care.
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Good dog: Meet Honey – the diabetes dog trained to save her master’s life
Duncan and Honey could be any other boy and his dog, playing on the beach. But she also accompanies him to school, sleepovers, even the movies.
What is syndrome x?
Metabolic syndrome, also ominously referred to as Syndrome X, is an umbrella of risk factors that can lead to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. We take a closer look at
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We have backup generators for our backup generators so that we can provide uninterrupted expert care.
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The only one in Africa and one of only 13 in the world, the P-I BrÅnemark Institute of Excellence at Mediclinic Morningside, specialises in facial reconstruction.
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Our hospitals did the first minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve implant procedure in Africa.
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We monitor the temperature of our neonatal units as newborn babies are extremely sensitive to temperature change.
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Our corridors are 2.3m wide allowing two beds to pass one another without any interference.
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We use the internationally recognised Oxford Vermont Network to keep our neonatal critical care units at the forefront of paediatric medicine.
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Our hospitals have been awarded international accreditation for best practice in the management of environmental systems and practices.
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We install alcohol rub dispensers at our facilities to prevent the spread of pathogens.
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Mediclinic has the highest number of internationally accredited facilities in Southern Africa.
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Our 24-hour emergency centres feature state-of-the-art life-saving equipment.
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Are there female-specific risk factors for diabetes?
Diabetes is now the leading cause of female deaths in South Africa, according to figures from Statistics South Africa. With coronary heart disease established as the leading cause of death in people with diabetes, an endocrinologist at Mediclinic Worcester looks at the risk factors for diabetes that are exclusive to women.
Can your lifestyle lead to diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes can be treated when diagnosed early. If left untreated, warns Mediclinic Vergelegen endocrinologist Dr Elmo Pretorius, it can lead to kidney damage, heart disease and even stroke.
A snapshot of diabetes in SA
There are 1,826,100 people living with diabetes in South Africa, according to the latest International Diabetes Federation research. The cases of diabetes in the country are rapidly rising.
Prediabetes: Should you be screened for it? [infographic]
While prediabetes is not a health condition in itself, says Mediclinic Vergelegen endocrinologist Dr Elmo Pretorius, it can be a sign that you are on the way to developing type 2 diabetes.
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