Diabetes - Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

When you have diabetes, your body produces insufficient insulin or uses it improperly.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease that develops when the pancreas can no longer generate insulin or when the body produces insulin but is unable to use it properly. The pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which facilitates the entry of food-derived glucose into your cells for energy production. Your body occasionally produces little to no insulin or uses it poorly. Consequently, glucose doesn't get to your cells and remains in your blood.

Over time, health issues might result from having too much glucose in the blood. Even though there is no treatment for diabetes, you can manage it and maintain your health.

What are the types of diabetes?

The three types of diabetes are type 1, 2, and gestational diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes: Although type 1 diabetes can manifest at any age, children and adolescents are the most commonly affected. To keep blood glucose levels under control when you have type 1 diabetes, you need daily insulin injections since your body either generates very little or no insulin.

Type 2 diabetes: If you have type 2 diabetes, you may have poor insulin production or usage. Type 2 diabetes can strike at any age, even in infancy. However, those in their middle years and older are most likely to develop this kind of diabetes. The most prevalent kind of diabetes is type 2.

By adopting healthy lifestyle adjustments like these, type 2 diabetes can be avoided or delayed:

Eating healthy food
Being active
Losing weight

Gestational diabetes (GDM): High blood glucose levels occur during pregnancy and are a symptom of gestational diabetes (GDM), a kind of diabetes that can cause problems for both the mother and the unborn child. GDM often goes away after pregnancy, but the affected mothers and their offspring are more likely to acquire type 2 diabetes.

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is the term used to describe a blood sugar level above normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It happens when your body's cells don't react to insulin as they should. Later on, type 2 diabetes may result from this.

Diabetes symptoms

Blood sugar levels influence the severity of diabetes symptoms. Some people may not exhibit symptoms, particularly if they have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes frequently appear suddenly and are more severe.

Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes can both cause the following symptoms:

Noticing a greater-than-normal thirst.
Frequent urination.
Weight loss without exerting effort.
Ketones are present in the urine. When insufficient insulin is available, muscle and fat are broken down, producing ketones.
Feeling weak and tired.
Irritated or experiencing other mood swings.
Having visual problems
Having wounds that take a long time to heal.
Getting several infections, including vaginal, skin, and mouth infections.

Who has a higher risk of type 2 diabetes?

Suppose you are overweight, older than 45, or have a family history of diabetes. In that case, you are more likely to ace physical inactivity, race, and several medical conditions like high blood pressure also influence your likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes. Additionally, having prediabetes or gestational diabetes while pregnant increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

What medical conditions can diabetics experience?

High blood sugar over time results in issues like:

Heart condition
Stroke
Kidney problems
Eye-related issues
Dental issues
Nerve injury
Foot problems

You can reduce your risk of getting certain health issues linked to diabetes.

Diabetic ketoacidosis

Diabetic Ketoacidosis develops when a diabetic's body starts to run low on insulin and switches to using fat for fuel rather than glucose.

Even though people with type 2 diabetes can occasionally experience diabetic ketoacidosis, Type 1 diabetics often experience it more frequently. When this occurs, the body accumulates dangerous compounds known as ketones due to fat breakdown. If you don't get immediate medical assistance, this might be fatal.

Among the signs of diabetic ketoacidosis are:

Increased urination
Gastrointestinal discomfort
Extreme thirst
Mental bewilderment
Breath that smells fruity
Feeling incredibly exhausted and fainting or breathing quickly

You can get home testing kits for diabetic ketoacidosis that check for ketone levels in your blood or urine. If you have diabetes and are worried about any of the symptoms mentioned above, dial 999 or go to A&E.

Diagnosis

Testing for blood glucose is a relatively cheap method for early diagnosis. Diabetes is treated with a healthy diet, regular exercise, reduced blood sugar levels, and other known risk factors for blood vessel damage. It's crucial to stop smoking if you want to prevent difficulties.

The following actions can help you lower your risk:

Exercise more and have a nutritious, balanced diet
Control your weight and stop smoking
Know your family's history

The good news is that adopting these behaviors can improve your general mental and physical health and lower your risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes as well as other heart and circulation conditions like coronary heart disease and stroke.

How can Type 2 diabetes be controlled?

Regulating your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels are crucial if you have diabetes to lower your chance of developing heart and circulation disorders such as coronary heart disease.

Medication and Treatment for type 2 diabetes

Diabetes can be successfully managed with lifestyle adjustments and medications. If you are overweight, your best action is to reduce weight, increase your physical activity level, and maintain a healthy diet, including limiting your intake of fatty and sugary foods and beverages.

If this is unsuccessful in lowering your blood sugar levels, your doctor may recommend drugs like metformin and sitagliptin. Since type 2 diabetes can advance over time, the course of treatment may also shift.

As type 2 diabetes increases your risk of stroke or a heart attack, your doctor might advise using a statin that lowers cholesterol to help safeguard your heart. To assist you in managing your triglyceride levels, your doctor could also advise that you take a fibrate supplement.

If you have diabetes, you should visit your doctor or a diabetic nurse annually to ensure you are not developing any complications, such as coronary heart disease.

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