DIABETES
DEFINITION/ETIOLOGY
Medical practitioners commonly refer to the disease as diabetes mellitus. It is a group of metabolic diseases where a person experiences conditions of high blood sugar above the normal. This is because of insufficient insulin production or in circumstances where the body’s cells do not respond positively to insulin. The insulin is produced by the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans located in the pancreas. It is used in the regulation of metabolism of fats and carbohydrates by the promotion of glucose absorption in blood.The known types of diabetes are: prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes.
Prediabetes is also called impaired glucose tolerance. It is a condition whereby sugar levels rise to levels higher than the normal. Type one insulin is more pronounced in persons under the age of twenty. It is an autoimmune disease that occurs due to the pancreas producing little or no insulin at all. Type 2 diabetes is common in people who are overweight. It differs from type 1 diabetes in that the body does not produce required amounts of insulin or it does not fully utilize the available insulin. Gestational diabetes is a condition that women can get when they are in their second trimester of pregnancy. It disappears after giving birth.
DISEASE SYMPTOMS
Patients who have this condition will depict the following symptoms:
The patient will experience frequent urination (polyuria). This is because of ineffective insulin, in that, the kidneys do not filter the glucose back into the blood. They will take water from a person’s blood for them to dilute the glucose. This will, as a result, fill up the bladder.
A person who has polyuria will need to replenish the lost liquid. Therefore, a person with diabetes will need to drink water more than on previous occasions. The disproportionate thirst is called polydipsia.
A person with diabetes will become hungry because the body will react by trying to acquire energy. This is because the insulin in the blood is not operating as required meaning that the cells don’t get the necessary energy.
DISEASE COMPLICATIONS/ SIDE EFFECTS
A patient with diabetes is at a high risk of stroke and heart attacks. They may also have eye problems, kidney diseases, Neurotherapy, and foot complications.
TREATMENT OF DIABETES.
In treating diabetes, a person should stop smoking, do daily regular exercises, eat a healthy and balanced diet, and take insulin with the advice of a doctor. The medications used in the treatment of diabetes include metformin, insulin therapy, meglitinides, DPP-4 inhibitors, sulfonylureas, and thiazolidinediones among others.
References
Brill, M. T. (2012). Diabetes. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books.
Shaw, K., & Cummings, M. H. (2005). Diabetes: Chronic complications. Chichester, West Sussex: J. Wiley.