Blue on Blue
Blue on blue is a term used in the military to describe situations where soldiers fire on other soldiers from the same army. This is different than Blue on Black which is a Kenny Wayne Shepherd song with a kick ass cover by Five Finger Death Punch and other stars like Brantley Gilbert and Kenny himself. I could go on but that is not what this post is supposed to talk about. Though you should really check out the song.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body destroys the beta cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin, and cause the symptoms we generally associate with type 1 diabetes. There is some debate over what triggers this response; environmental factors, viruses, diet, maternal factors, and the hygiene hypothesis (that we might be TOO clean). To me this all makes sense, but then again, I am starting from ground zero and filling in the gaps in my nursing education so bear with me. These same factors have been blamed for everything from cancer to asthma to preference towards different metal genres.
If you want to know more, go to the Googles or PubMed and read some. I want to talk about a virus though. In the summer of 2021 I was sent to Dam Neck Naval Base in Virginia for some schooling and when I was there, I developed the need to pee constantly. What the hell? I drink a lot of water since I love to run and be outside. I don't drink alcohol often. My caffeine intake was pitifully reasonable. I went to the on base clinic and met with PA-C Craig who, after looking for alternative reasons, suggested that maybe I had developed diabetes from my prior COVID-19 infection. Seriously? Long story short, I didn't have diabetes and to this day I have no clue what happened and my urologist is equally stumped but who cares.
A preprint, MMWR, and several studies, referenced below, have examined the link between COVID-19 and the onset or worsening of diabetes. A caveat, from the January 14th 2022 MMWR "SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with worsening of diabetes symptoms, persons with diabetes are at increased risk for severe COVID-19". A common thread in these sources is that a set of people had uncontrolled hyperglycemia before contracting COVID-19 and that it may have pushed them over the ledge. It is not specified that they had pre-diabetes however it is possible in my mind.
One article from New Science April 2022 suggests that a subset of the population has undiagnosed diabetes, not surprising with how fat we all are, and that at the hospital, where blood glucose is more frequently monitored, we are now diagnosing more. The other theory is that the virus is making it into the insulin secreting cells and doing damage. So will we suddenly have a rash of new diabetics in society? Maybe. What are the consequences? I see two right off the bat. First, more sickness. Diabetes when uncontrolled is a risk factor for cancers, heart disease, vision problems, and infections. These may have a rise in incidence over the next few years as we come to grips with what this virus has done to our bodies. The second, and more hopeful, is that we will have a new fervor for research into diabetes. It is understandable if sad that we are unable to focus our efforts on those things which affect a small portion of the population but alas, cest la vie. My cynical nature also leads me to believe that a bulk of the research will be on new drugs for diabetes instead of advances to prevent it in the first place but who knows? I've been wrong once before.
All those words and what did you learn? Probably nothing. Let's be honest, I write this blog for me. To get my thoughts out on "paper" and maybe, if you are nice enough, you will educate me. As a brand new nurse I am not diagnosing anyone yet, but I want to know why and how and what and who. I want to be the gray haired old geezer who complains about the "young-uns" and their music while teaching them my accumulated wisdom. If I am lucky I will get there, but I need to keep learning as do we all. Peace out dudes and dudettes.
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