Diabetes : Types, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
When it comes to health conditions it is quite essential that you must always get yourself checked on a regular basis. The present conditions which we are facing these days and the type of lifestyle that is maintained will always lead to various kinds of disease. All such ailments are indeed recognized as lifestyle diseases. One such essential disease is Diabetes.
Diabetes is one such disease, which engulfs its preys with high blood sugar levels, and as a result of which one gets succumbed to it. There are various other kinds of issues which you will face along with this particular disease. Hence it will roll its victims under a severe condition.
Hence it can be said that falling prey to such a disease is never an option and you must actually get yourself checked before. It is essential to detect which type of diabetes you have and for this a test for diabetes is a perquisite. Therefore, it is really important to know this ailment. There are many blogs which you must have gone through to acknowledge the treatment for diabetes, but we will analyze what diabetes is, along with its various aspects.
What Is Diabetes?
People who have diabetes may always hear or read a lot about controlling, or managing, the condition. But first we need to know what diabetes is and why it is so important to control the same. The number of people suffering with diabetes is rocketing these days. Up from under half a million its three million today. According to various reports people are as well suffering from high blood pressure with this condition. As with so many conditions information and prevention is always better than cure.
Diabetes exists in more than one of a kind
There are mainly two main kinds of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. The Types 1 usually starts before the age of 20 and always stands on the pillar of insulin injections. The Type 2 one, is a condition which tends to start later in life with a simpler version of treatment. Yes it is said that in Type 2 diabetes the condition usually clams down with tablets and some lifestyle changes.
It is also true that about 95% of people suffer from Type 2 diabetes.
Besides these two major types, there is also a form of diabetes, known as, Diabetes Insipidus. This types of diabetes is caused due to lack of anti-diuretic hormone within the body. As a result, one has to go for a Diabetes Insipidus test for the confirmation of the illness. While the mild cases of the ailment are treatable with increase in amount of water intake, severe cases may require proper medication and therapies. There are situations, when the ailment may show abnormalities within the body of the patient.
Symptoms of Diabetes
How can you tell that you have diabetes? Most of the early symptoms and some signals are always enough to tell you about diabetes. For the Type 2 diabetes, some of the symptoms are so mild and common health issues that people usually tend to ignore them. Some people even do not recognize their disease, until some harm is caused with its negative effects. So, before you go for a diabetes blood test, you need to go examine the following symptoms.
The Common Symptoms
Both type of diabetes have some telltale warning signs. These are some of the signals which are usually noticed from the very beginning and hence helps in recognizing the correct ailment. Let us have a look at some of the common symptoms for both, namely:
- Hunger and Fatigue
Our body converts food into glucose and hence convert the same into energy. However Insulin is required to get this change done. When you are suffering from diabetes, the production of insulin gets reduced or restricted and hence body does not make any kind of glucose, it begins to feel hungry and fatigued.
- Peeing more often
One of the turnkey factor or symptom which would help you get an indication about your diabetes is that you will pee more often than you will thirsty. An average person pee between four to seven times in a day. However people with diabetes may go a lot more.
- Dry Mouth and Itchy Skin
Since your body begins to lose more amount of fluids, it is obvious that it will gradually become dry. There will always be less amount of moisture in your body. You go dehydrated and begins to feel dry, along with an itchiness in the skin.
- Blurred Vision
The changing fluids in your body usually make the lenses in your eye balls swell up. They usually change the shape and accordingly lose their ability to focus.
The Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
yes there are however some change in the individual diabetic symptoms. Let us have a look at some of the aspects.
The Yeast Infections
Both men and women with diabetes is liable to get these. Yeast feeds on glucose, therefore having plenty around makes it thrive. Infections can indeed grow in any warm, moist fold of skin, even including the areas like:
- In-between fingers and toes
- Under breasts
- In or around sex organs
The Process of Slow-healing sores or cuts
Yes it is true that over time, the presence of high blood sugar can affect your blood flow and even cause the nerve to damage that makes it hard for your body to heal wounds.
The Pain or numbness in your feet or legs
When you have diabetes you might always feel some kind of numbness in your feet or legs. This is nothing but another result of nerve damage.
The Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes
Another type of diabetes is the Type 1. Along with having all the common types of symptoms there are some specially recognized Symptoms. Let us have a look at some of those symptoms.
An Unplanned weight loss
If your body is unable to get energy from your food, it will start burning the muscle and fat for energy instead. You may at such juncture lose weight even though you haven’t changed on how you eat.
The Nausea and Vomiting
When your body resorts to the process of burning fat, it makes some ‘ketones’. These are the one that can build up in your blood to such dangerous levels, a possibly life-threatening condition, more commonly known as diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can indeed make you feel sick to your stomach.
Symptoms in Male
Yes diabetes is such a disease which often has difference in its establishment among male and female. The symptoms in male are always different, like;
- Reduced strength from loss of muscle mass.
- Recurrent episodes of thrush around the genitals.
- Itching of or around the penis.
- Erectile dysfunction
Symptoms in Female
As said earlier, the symptoms in female also differs a lot. There are specific reasons and symptoms which always takes a different shape among females, like;
- Vaginal and oral yeast infections and vaginal thrush
- Urinary infections
- Female sexual dysfunction
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
When you should call your doctor
When you are suffering from diabetes and is older than 45, it is always important to get things tested. When you spot such things or such conditions early, you can avoid nerve damage, heart trouble and various other complications. However there are some conditions when you need to call a doctor, such as
- Feel sick to your stomach, weak, and too thirsty
- When you are peeing a lot
- Have a very bad stomach ache
- Are breathing more deeply and faster than the normal condition
- Have sweet breath that smells like nail polish remover
- If your blood tests for diabetes result is positive
What are major risks of diabetes?
Let us be very clear that there is nothing known as mild kind of diabetes. There are basically two types of diabetes, among which the Type 2 have fewer symptoms in comparison to the Type 1.
Let’s be clear – there is no such thing as ‘the mild kind’ of diabetes. The Type 2 diabetes usually has fewer number of symptoms to begin with but, without enough and accurate treatment, it greatly increases your risk of undergoing a heart attack and at times even a stroke. Fortunately, keeping with your blood sugar, cholesterol and even blood pressure under control may help you to a certain extent. At times even a combination of diet, exercise and medicines can dramatically cut such risks.
What are Causes of Diabetes?
Diabetes is definitely one such kind of disease which is supposed to be genetic mutations affecting Beta Cells, Insulin, and Insulin Action. These can as well be listed as some of the most important causes of diabetes. There are some relatively uncommon forms of diabetes, which are caused by mutations, or changes, in a single gene. These are the mutations which are usually inherited, but sometimes the gene mutations, occurs spontaneously. This therefore causes diabetes thereby reducing the performance of the beta cells to produce body insulin.
There are many other reasons which ultimately cause for such a change in your health. In fact you’ll be surprised to know that like the specific genre division in type, diabetes also have some divisions in its causes. Hence the causes for Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 diabetes are different. Let us have a look at some of the instances.
The Causes for Type 1 Diabetes:
There are many reason which causes for Type 1 diabetes and if we consider then the list will be prepared in the following order:
The Genetic Susceptibility
Heredity is one such aspect which plays an important part in determining who is likely to develop the type 1 diabetes. Genes are always passed down from the biological parent to child. These Genes on the other hand carry instructions for making proteins needed for the body’s cells to function. There are however many genes, which have interactions among them, and are at the end of the day thought to influence susceptibility to and protection from type 1 diabetes.
The Autoimmune Destruction of Beta Cells
When we talk about the Type 1 diabetes, then white blood cells commonly known as T cells attack and destroy beta cells. This is the process that begins well before diabetes symptoms appear and even continues after diagnosis. Often, this type 1 diabetes is not the one diagnosed until most beta cells have already been destroyed. At such a juncture, a person needs some daily insulin treatment to survive. Therefore finding ways to modify this autoimmune process and preserve the beta cell function.
The Environmental Factors
Environmental factors, such as foods and toxins, may always play a very important role in the development of type 1 diabetes, but the exact nature of their role has actually not been determined. Some theories suggest that there are environmental factors which trigger the autoimmune destruction of beta cells in people with a complete genetic susceptibility to diabetes.
The Viruses and infections
A virus cannot cause diabetes, but however people are sometimes diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during or after a severe viral infection, suggesting the existence of a link between the two. Also, the complete onset of type 1 diabetes mostly occurs frequently during the winter, especially when viral infections are more common.
Infant feeding practices
There have been some Diabetes testing surveys, which suggests that dietary factors may always raise or lower the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. For instance, the breastfed infants and infants receiving vitamin D supplements may always have a reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes, while early exposure to cow’s milk and cereal proteins.
The Causes for Type 2 Diabetes:
There are many causes which are also present for the Type 2 diabetes and it is as well true that these are some of the most important factors. Let us have a look at some of the aspects.
The Genetic Susceptibility
Genes are one such aspect which always play an important role in the susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. Having genes or rather one should say combinations of genes may actually increase or even decrease a person’s risk for developing the disease. The role of these genes is suggested by the high rate of type 2 diabetes in families and some identical twins and wide variations in diabetes prevalence by ethnicity.
The Obesity and Physical Inactivity
When it comes to physical inactivity and obesity, these are considered strongly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. People who are indeed genetically susceptible to type 2 diabetes are all the more vulnerable when these risk factors are present.
The Insulin Resistance
Another most important point is the insulin resistance is a common condition in people who are actually overweight or obese, have some excess abdominal fat, and are not physically active. Muscle, fat, and even liver cells stop responding properly to insulin, thereby forcing the pancreas to compensate by producing extra insulin. As long as the beta cells are able to produce enough insulin, blood glucose levels stay in their normal range. But when insulin production indeed falters because of beta cell dysfunction, the glucose levels rise, leading to diabetes.
The Abnormal Glucose Production by the Liver
In some people who are suffering with diabetes, there is always an abnormal increase in glucose production by the liver which as well contributes to the high blood glucose levels. Normally, the pancreas are the one that releases the hormone glucagon when blood glucose levels are low. Glucagon thereby stimulates the liver to produce glucose and hence release it into the bloodstream. But when the blood glucose and the insulin levels are high after a meal, glucagon levels drop, and thereby the liver stores excess glucose for later.
How low is too low for your blood sugar?
There are some medicines for diabetes and mostly insulin injections and tablets more commonly known as sulphonylureas are available in the market. It is also true that this can drop your blood sugar too much, causing hypoglycaemia. This indeed makes you feel very unwell and can at the end of the day cause severe complications including brain damage and even heart attack in some cases.
How do I recognize that I have low blood sugar?
If you have diabetes and your blood sugar is too low, then it might happen that you may feel irritable, dizzy, hungry, and even trembling and tired. At such situations you may as well have problems concentrating or seeing things clearly. If someone within your close relation has diabetes and looks sweaty and pale or even begins behaving as if they’re drunk, always ask yourself if they may be having a ‘hypoglycaemia’ condition.
How can I actually help myself?
One of the most common cause of type 2 diabetes is being overweight. Yes believe this or not but it is true that being overweight can make you suffer from diabetes. The presence of Type 2 diabetic ailment can also be one of the main reasons for getting complications like heart attack and kidney or even eye damage. If you can actually cut your weight by just 10%, or even you can lower your fasting blood sugar by almost 50% then a cure is always possible. Your doctor will always be delighted to help you look at your diet and exercise to see how they can help.
Getting regular blood test for diabetes is an absolutely turnkey solution. If you’re prescribed any kind of medication, do always speak to your pharmacist if you get side-effects, rather than just stopping it. You shall also take special care of your eyes. A good and maintained diet might as well help you solve your situation.
Diabetes Diet
If your Diabetes test confirms the presence of the illness then it is always suggested by a dietician to reach certain health and nutritional goals. These will never make a huge difference, yet will affect your condition tremendously. Drastic changes to your food intake or even the exercise usually result in eventual rebounding. There are various kinds of goals which are listed, and hence these nutritional facts labels that you are armed with all the equipment to fight diabetes. Let us just a complete wind up for the whole chart in order to achieve results completely.
Whether you meet with a dietitian or even diabetes educator and create plans together, or when you have the motivation to do it on your own, here are certain things to keep in mind: Being realistic is the turnkey solution!!
It is really critical that your goals are in fact doable or given your time, budget, and lifestyle.
Another most important tip for those of us with diabetes who are also looking to maintain or rather improve their weight, is by engaging Blood sugar management, which is going to be a priority, because if your blood sugars are all over the place, this can disrupt your metabolism, hunger cues, and insulin needs. Yes it is true that keeping blood sugar under control, as one of your priority will definitely help allow all of the other positive changes you are seeking to fall right in line.
Now without further commotion, here are some information to always keep in mind when reviewing a Nutrition Facts label:
- The Serving size
Always make sure that you can estimate and even stick to the serving size suggested on the label. Do not ever just eat out of the box or bag, since as a result of this you will almost definitely go over the serving size. - The Calories
It is also very important to note the source of the calories you are thinking of eating and determine whether it is beneficial for all your blood sugars and overall health. - The Fat
It is also true that providing nine calories/gram, fat is an extremely important factor in your weight control. And new research has indicated that the saturated fat may not be as bad for our bodies as we have once thought. One thing is for sure, that when it comes to blood sugars, fat slows down absorption of food, thereby causing gradual blood sugar rise instead of an immediate spike. - The Sodium
The purchase of the low-sodium version of anything you like, at least once, is enough to see a marked difference.
Hence, it can be concluded that when it comes to your health and health related issues it is always suggested to keep everything in your lifestyle in complete order. Yes as modern society claims diabetes nowadays does fall under the genre of lifestyle diseases, but you can still avoid it with regular tests for diabetes. This is one such ailment which will always take an essential part of your life and will at the end of the day make you deprived of many novel aspects.
Finally, if you want to understand the symptoms of diabetes — both the symptoms unique to women and also those women and men experience. Though women indeed haven’t seen the same drop in diabetes, specially related to the mortality that men have, understanding and managing the symptoms of diabetes as well as its complications can help you lead a far healthier and satisfactory life.
