|
||
When it comes to diabetes types there are essentially three types of diabetes and they are diabetes type 1, diabetes type 2, and gestational diabetes. Of the diabetes types the most well known is diabetes type 2 but let us take a look at all three of these different types of the condition and see what separates them and what links them together.
This type of diabetes is categorized by the complete inability for the digestive system to produce insulin. It is a degenerative disease that eventually destroys the body's ability to create insulin at any time and can become fatal if not treated with external injections of insulin directly to the blood. This disease is commonly considered to be more abundant in children and sometimes this misconception can cause an adult that has this diabetes to be incorrectly diagnosed as having type 2. As we will see later it is critical that this diagnosis be correct because the difference between type 1 and type 2 is significant and treating a type 1 patient with type 2 methods can cause permanent damage and even death if the treatment is not altered in time.
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. About 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents. However, nationally representative data on prevalence of type 2 diabetes in youth are not available. When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production decreases. The result is the same as for type 1 diabetes--glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot make efficient use of its main source of fuel.
The symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually. Their onset is not as sudden as in type 1 diabetes. Symptoms may include fatigue or nausea, frequent urination, unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, and slow healing of wounds or sores. Some people have no symptoms. To treat type 2 doctors will normally recommend a change in diet for the patient and tell the patient they have to lose weight in order for the body to begin to react properly to the insulin being added to the system. In some cases this loss of weight and a change in diet will help keep the type 2 under control. If this does not work then the next step is a combination of medications that will help the patient control their insulin flow and get their diabetes under control.
This diabetes is a very specific type and it only affects pregnant women who have never had diabetes before. Although the cause is not readily known it is believed that a hormone produced during pregnancy begins to affect the body's ability to properly utilize insulin and causes gestational diabetes.
Thanks to the efforts of two Canadian doctors, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, insulin was discovered and this dramatically changed the lives of millions diabetics, especially those suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), the more severe form of the disease. No longer was death inevitable and many diabetic children reached adult life.
Still, their problems were not over since diabetes has many complications that can cripple - if not kill - the patient unless it is properly managed. Both IDDM and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) have short and long term risks. Untreated, the disease affect and damage blood vessels in the brain, the head, the eyes, the legs and the kidneys.
One acute complication of IDDM is ketoacidosis which often occurs when the diabetic fails to receive insulin injections or is under stress from illness or injury. As blood sugar levels rise, chemical compounds called ketones form, making the blood more acidic.
This results in increased urination and thirst, weakness and drowsiness, vomiting, diarrhea, and a sweet smelling breath as acetone is being expelled from the lungs. As the condition worsens, breathing becomes rapid and the patient may eventually lose consciousness.
"These symptoms demand immediate treatment because death can result (government statistics suggest that ketoacidosis is the cause of about one in 10 deaths in diabetics). Ketoacidosis is most likely in the undiagnosed diabetic or in a person whose diabetes is not well-controlled," said Dr. David E. Larson, editor-in chief of the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book.
"However, any diabetic is subject to ketoacidosis under such circumstances as accidental injury, infection, or loss of large quantities of fluid through vomiting or diarrhea. In these situations, it is important for the diabetic to monitor closely the glucose concentrations in the blood and urine and the ketone concentration in the urine," Larson added.
The long-term effects of diabetes develop slowly and may have no symptoms. These include hypertension, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerosis (the formation of fatty deposits in the arteries that reduce the flow of blood to vital organs) all of which make a person susceptible to stroke, heart attack, and gangrene of the feet.
These are caused by the deterioration of nerves and large blood vessels. If the small blood vessels are involved, blurred vision and other eye problems may occur. Kidney disease is another problem.
"Approximately half of all diabetics may experience eye problems after having the disorder for 10 years, and such problems are almost universal in those who have had diabetes 30 or more years. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common such problem, although cataracts and glaucoma are somewhat more likely in the diabetic than in the non-diabetic" Larson revealed.
"Eye impairment is one of the vascular complications that diabetics fear most. The disease is a major cause of blindness in the world even though there are a few diabetic patients who completely lose their sight. It also produces reduced skin sensitivity that may lead to severe ulcerations in the limbs and eventually bring about another very severe complication: gangrene leading to amputation,' added the editors of World Health, a publication of the World Health Organization (WHO). (Next: Quack cures for diabetes.)
Since obesity can worsen diabetes, keep your weight down to a healthy level. You can do this with the help of Zyroxin, a safe and natural supplement that will maximize your weight loss through its unique fat-burning ingredients. For details, visit