Diabetes

For a lay person:

Diabetes is a long-term condition in which blood sugar is too high, because the body makes too little insulin (type 1) or does not respond to it well (type 2). Over time high blood sugar damages the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels.

For a trained medical person:

Chronic hyperglycaemia diagnosed by HbA1c, fasting glucose or oral glucose tolerance test. Management includes lifestyle measures, metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists and insulin, with screening for complications. In Chinese medicine it overlaps with the classical 'wasting-thirst' (消渴).

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Lung-stomach heat accumulation and fluid damage; Stomach Fire; Qi and yin deficiency; Kidney Yin Deficiency; Spleen-stomach qi deficiency; Damp-Heat Invading the Spleen; Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get emergency care for vomiting, confusion, fast breathing or very high blood sugar. Some herbs lower blood sugar; tell your doctor before combining them with diabetes medicines.