DIABETES : Types & Symptoms

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when our blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is our main source of energy and comes from the food we eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into our cells to be used for energy. Sometimes our body doesn’t make enough—or any—insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in our blood and doesn’t reach your cells. 
     It is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Over time, having too much glucose in our blood can cause health problems. Although it has no cure, we can take steps to manage it and stay healthy.  Hyperglycaemia (or raised blood sugar) is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body's systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.
     In 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older had diabetes. In 2016, it was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths and in 2012 high blood glucose was the cause of another 2.2 million deaths.

TYPES of Diabetes

• Type 1 Diabetes :   Also known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease. Type 1 diabetes results from the pancreas's failure to produce enough insulin due to loss of beta cells. Our immune system attacks and destroys the cells in our pancreas that make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, although it can appear at any age. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive. About 10% of people with diabetes have this type. The cause of this autoimmune response is unknown.

Symptoms include excessive excretion of urine (polyuria), thirst (polydipsia), constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes, and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly.

• Type 2 Diabetes :    Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to respond to insulin properly. We can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. However, this type of diabetes occurs most often in middle-aged and older people. This is the most common type of diabetes, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and it has strong links with obesity.

Symptoms may be similar to those of type 1 diabetes, but are often less marked. As a result, the disease may be diagnosed several years after onset, once complications have already arisen.

• Gestational Diabetes :    Gestational diabetes develops in some women when they are pregnant. Insulin-blocking hormones produced by the placenta cause this type of diabetes. Most of the time, this type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, if we’ve had gestational diabetes, we have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Sometimes diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy is actually type 2 diabetes.

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS of Diabetes

• General Symptoms :--

The general symptoms of diabetes include:
·         increased hunger (polyphagia)
·         increased thirst (polydipsia)
·         weight loss
·         frequent urination (polyuria)
·         blurry vision
·         extreme fatigue
·         sores that don’t heal
·         numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
Symptoms may develop rapidly (weeks or months) in type 1 diabetes, while they usually develop much more slowly and may be subtle or absent in type 2 diabetes.

• Symptoms in Men :--

In addition to the general symptoms of diabetes, men with diabetes may have a decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction (ED), and poor muscle strength.

• Symptoms in Women :--

Women with diabetes can also have symptoms such as urinary tract infections, yeast infections, and dry, itchy skin.

•      Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include:

extreme hunger, increased thirst, unintentional weight loss, frequent urination, blurry vision, tiredness
It may also result in mood changes.

•      Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:

increased hunger , increased thirst, increased urination, blurry vision, tiredness, sores that are slow to heal
It may also cause recurring infections. This is because elevated glucose levels make it harder for the body to heal.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes can start quickly, in a matter of weeks. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly—over the course of several years—and can be so mild that we might not even notice them. Many people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. Some people do not find out they have the disease until they have diabetes-related health problems, such as blurred vision or heart trouble.
     Several other signs and symptoms can mark the onset of diabetes although they are not specific to the disease. Prolonged high blood glucose can cause glucose absorption in the lens of the eye, which leads to changes in its shape, resulting in vision changes. Long-term vision loss can also be caused by diabetic retinopathy. A number of skin rashes that can occur in diabetes are collectively known as diabetic dermadromes.
     People (usually with type 1 diabetes) may also experience episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a metabolic disturbance characterized by nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, the smell of acetone on the breath, deep breathing known as Kussmaul breathing, and in severe cases a decreased level of consciousness.

How Common is Diabetes?

As of 2015, 30.3 million people in the United States, or 9.4 percent of the population, had diabetes. More than 1 in 4 of them didn’t know they had the disease. Diabetes affects 1 in 4 people over the age of 65. About 90-95 percent of cases in adults are type 2 diabetes.

Who is More Likely To Develop Type 2 Diabetes?

We are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if we are age 45 or older, have a family history of diabetes, or are overweight. Physical inactivity, race, and certain health problems such as high blood pressure also affect our chance of developing type 2 diabetes. We are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if we have prediabetes or had gestational diabetes at pregnancy.