Symptoms and Causes of Diabetes
Diabetes is a persistent and serious disease. It cannot be cured,
even when you receive treatment. If left untreated, it can lead to
very serious complications that can be deadly. There is some good
news though, diabetes can be controlled if it is carefully
monitored.
Diabetes is a serious disease and should be treated with great
care. In most situations, people diagnosed with diabetes require
routine medical treatment. By making changes toward a healthy
lifestyle and a working on maintaining target blood-sugar levels,
people with diabetes can significantly slow down the degenerative
process of the disease.
Symptoms of Diabetes
The symptoms of diabetes can develop quickly in people who had
previously been exhibiting no signs of the disease.
There are two types of diabetes, and each type has different signs
of their onset. Initial symptoms of Type 1 diabetes usually develop
over weeks and months, while Type 2 diabetes can take years. While
Type 1 diabetics can experience the mild symptoms similar to the
early stages of Type 2 diabetes, the most prominent symptoms of
Type 1 diabetes are usually the symptoms of very high blood sugars
count and it progresses very quickly.
Irritability: This is one sign of high
blood sugar because the brain and other organs are not getting a
sufficient supply of glucose, which causes you to feel tired and
uneasy.
Diabetes also brings on fatigue, a sick feeling, frequent
urination, especially at night, and excessive thirst. One way the
body gets rid of the excess glucose is through frequent urination.
This loss of fluids causes extreme thirst.
Unexplained weight loss: Some people with diabetes
have the inability to process many of the calories in the foods
they eat. This may cause the person to lose weight even though they
eat normal or even excessive amount of food. The loss sugar and
water in the urine and the dehydration caused by the frequent
urination can also contribute to weight loss.
Poor wound healing: High blood sugar
resists the creation of white blood cells. When these cells do not
function correctly, wounds do not heal very quickly. Secondly,
circulation of blood can be hindered in different body parts for
people with long standing diabetes due to thickening of blood
vessels.
Altered mental status: Agitation, unexplained
irritability, inattention, extreme lethargy, or confusion can all
be signs of conditions diabetes can cause (i.e. very high blood
sugar, ketoacidosis, or hyperosmolar hyperglycemia nonketotic
syndrome or hypoglycemia). Any of these conditions requires
immediate medical attention. Call your health care provider or
911.
Causes of Diabetes
In Type 1 diabetes, the insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed
by the body's immune system. For some reason, the immune system
recognizes the cells as being 'foreign' rather than 'self', and
therefore attacks them.
Type 2 diabetes is believed to run in families. There are several
genes are being studied that may be related to the cause of type 2
diabetes.
Drugs such as steroids, Dilantin, and others may elevate the blood
sugar through a variety of mechanisms. Certain other drugs, such as
alloxan, streptozocin, and thiazide diuretics, are toxic to the
beta cells of the pancreas and can cause diabetes.
Heredity is a major cause of diabetes. If both parents have Type 2
diabetes, there is a chance that nearly all of their children will
have diabetes. If both parents have Type 1 diabetes, fewer than 20
percent of their children will develop Type 1 diabetes. In
identical twins, if one twin develops Type 2 diabetes, the chance
is nearly 100 percent that the other twin will also develop it.