Genetic Pedigree - Essay Example

Introduction
The representation of family medical history and family relationships in a pictorial manner is commonly referred to as a genogram. The concept was introduced by Monica Mc Goldrick and Randy Gerson in 1985, genogram are currently used in various fields which include medicine, psychology, social work, education, genetic research, genealogy, and psychiatry. To do this, a set of standard symbols for representing various aspects of the family lineage are used. Genograms are advantageous as they help in the defining and determination of family, social and emotional relationships. Different color-coded lines are drawn to depict a family, relationship, or emotional bondage. From the genogram, one can determine if a couple is married, divorced, or engaged. Genograms record family history and allow the genealogist to represent complex family trees. Genograms are also very important in portraying that a given person is susceptible to a given disease. Psychologists use genograms to gather information about their clients. This helps them in counseling. In social work, they help in determining the emotional relationship between individuals and the level of cohesiveness of the family members.

Symbols used

The following symbols are used in the construction of the genogram (Potter & Perry, 2006)

Diabetes is a disease characterized by a disordered metabolism resulting from a combination of environmental and hereditary causes. Due to these factors, the patient suffers from an abnormally high blood sugar. This is referred to as hyperglycemia. The control of blood sugar in the body is controlled by the insulin hormone and other chemicals. Diabetes results when the body produces less insulin. The common symptoms of diabetes include excessive production of urine, excessive fluid intake, weight loss, blurred vision, and lethargy. One common treatment of diabetes is the administration of insulin to the patient; this method has been used since 1921 when insulin was made available. However, this treatment results to very many and acute complications such as ketoacidosis, coma, hypoglycemia, cardiovascular disease, renal and retinal failure. Due to this complication, alternative methods of curing and suppressing the effects of diabetes have been developed; these include;
1) Removing carbohydrates from the diet
Carbohydrates when digested are converted into sugars, excessive sugar resulting from these carbohydrates will require insulin to regulate the blood sugar, and elimination of blood sugars thus reducing the effects of insulin lack for a diabetic person.
2) Exercises
Performing physical exercises such as walking reduces the effects of diabetes on the patient.
3) Increasing water intake and eliminating the sugars
Eliminating foods containing sugars and sweeteners also reduces the effects of diabetes on the patient. Taking nonsugary foods and beverages reduces the demand for insulin to regulate blood sugar. This helps the patient's health improve dramatically as insulin medication leads to severe and chronic effects. Read More