According to the frequency of how humanity representatives face various diseases, diabetes mellitus (in short, diabetes) takes the third place in the world after oncology and diseases of the cardiovascular system. On the planet now there are about 110 million people suffering from this chronic ailment.
And every 16-18 years the number of cases increases by 2-3 times. Moreover, every year the diabetes gets younger. Scientists can not yet offer effective drugs that completely cure diabetes.
The main symptoms of this disease:
- insatiable thirst;
- quite plentiful and frequent urination;
- great dry mouth.
There are many types of diabetes. All of them differ not only in the characteristic for each of them features of the impact on the body of a particular person and symptoms, but also in the reasons that provoked its occurrence.
A bit about diabetes
Diabetes is a rather dangerous pathology of the endocrine system. As a result of an ailment in a person’s blood, an insufficient amount of insulin, a hormone, is used to deliver glucose (produced from food) to the body’s cells. Thanks to this, the tissues receive the energy they need.
With insulin deficiency or a rather poor tissue reaction to it, a sharp increase in the quantitative content of glucose in the blood occurs, which leads to a very serious condition - hyperglycemia.
With diabetes, there is a violation of carbohydrate metabolism, which leads to a malfunction in the functioning of the body as a whole. Therefore, all therapeutic methods are aimed precisely at restoring the normal circulation of glucose in the patient's body. Depending on the cause of the disease, there are different types of diabetes.
On a note! Regardless of the treatment of diabetes mellitus, it is almost impossible to completely cure it.
What can trigger the onset of diabetes
The types and causes of diabetes can be completely different, but the fact that the cells of the body lose normal nutrition remains constant. Sugar, however, not falling for its intended purpose, begins to draw water onto itself, which, once in the bloodstream, is brought out. As a result, dehydration occurs.
What can provoke the appearance of diabetes mellitus (all types of it):
- A lifestyle that can be classified as sedentary.
- Constant stressful situations.
- The use of hormonal and diuretic drugs for a long time, as well as cytostatics and salicylates.
- A hereditary predisposition can also provide a disservice. Statistics say that if the head of the family is ill with diabetes, then the probability that the child subsequently develops the same disease is about 7-12%, and if the mother suffers from this disease, the risk is reduced to 2-3%. If both parents are susceptible to diabetes, then the likelihood that their children will also be ill increases to 75%.
- Weight is very far from the norm (that is, its excess).
- Reception of a large number of refined and high-calorie foods.
- Constant overeating.
Types of diabetes
There are various types of diabetes. They differ in the causes, the process of the disease and its therapy. But there are two main types of diabetes - the first and second types.
And if diabetes mellitus of the second type was not diagnosed (you just did not go to the doctor’s appointment) or did not undergo high-quality treatment, then there is a risk that it will develop into the first, which is much more difficult to treat and, naturally, much more dangerous.
Two types of diabetes, in spite of the many things that bring them together, still have certain differences. Each of them has characteristic symptoms and signs, which we will discuss below.
Possible causes of type 1 diabetes
A distinctive feature of type 1 diabetes mellitus (the so-called insulin-dependent) is a serious insulin deficiency (it is either absent altogether or is available, but in very small quantities) due to the destruction of pancreatic cells. Very often, the younger generation, in particular adolescents and children, is susceptible to this disease resulting from a genetic predisposition. Although other age categories are also at risk.
Type 1 diabetes may well be congenital. Possible causes of its occurrence may be:
- All kinds of viral infections.
- Nervous Disorders.
- Pretty passive lifestyle.
- Disturbances in the functioning of the immune system.
- Heredity. Moreover, it is important that the disease itself is not inherited, but exclusively a predisposition to its appearance.
- Improper nutrition, namely the use of smoked meats, carbohydrates, carbonated drinks, fast food and canned foods.
Please note that of the two types, type 1 diabetes is the most dangerous, since it is it that is accompanied by too high a blood sugar content.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes
The main signs that a person has the described autoimmune disease are:
- Frequent urge (during the day) to urinate.
- A constant desire to quench your thirst. Moreover, even after drinking plenty, a person does not get rid of it.
- Rapid weight gain or rapid loss of body weight.
- Increased appetite or lack thereof.
- Irritability for any reason.
- Weakness, drowsiness and constant feeling of tiredness.
- Significant visual impairment, sometimes reaching blindness.
- Nausea.
- Pain in the abdomen.
- Impaired functioning of the kidneys.
- The development of a variety of dermatitis, which are not very treatable.
- Pain in the extremities and their numbness associated with circulatory disorders.
It is important to know that with the protracted nature of the disease and the absence of its treatment, poisoning of the whole organism with the breakdown products of fats begins. As a result, the skin may exude an odor of acetone, and you may also feel bad breath.
What is the danger of type 1 diabetes
The named disease can not be treated negligently. Otherwise, it threatens with the following consequences:
- Amputation of the legs. This can happen due to the fact that blood flow in the extremities is significantly impaired.
- Myocardial infarction or stroke due to high blood cholesterol.
- Impotence in men. The fact is that the blood vessels and nerve endings cease to function normally.
- Obese.
- Encephalopathy
- Pancreatitis.
- Dermatitis.
- Nephropathy.
- Hypoglycemic coma. It can be fatal.
Type one treatment
Initially, the patient determines the quantitative composition of blood sugar and then prescribe treatment:
- These can be insulin injections, which the patient will, unfortunately, have to do all his life. There is no other way out to provide the body with hormone, which, participating in the metabolic process, promotes the processing of carbohydrates.
By the way, today it is much more convenient to make such injections than before. For these purposes, use pen-syringes and pumps (they constantly produce the drug under the skin), automatically adjusting the dose of insulin.
- Medications can be prescribed that stimulate the production of a sufficient amount of your own insulin in the body of a person suffering from diabetes.
It is extremely important that patients with diabetes are constantly monitored by doctors in terms of their current state of health and the quantitative content of sugar in the blood. Diabetic patients can themselves monitor their blood sugar levels daily using home-made special devices. In some cases, the doctor gives a referral to a urine test for quantitative glucose.
If you do not carry out full-fledged therapy of type 1 diabetes, then this will inevitably lead to very serious complications. It is even possible that the patient will have to be hospitalized. Be prudent: do not take the situation to extremes!
Possible causes of type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (the so-called non-insulin-dependent) is characterized by the fact that the process of interaction of insulin with tissue cells is disrupted and as a result there is a slight increase (compared with normal values) in blood sugar. This disease has a metabolic nature and is not congenital.
Tracking all types of diabetes, statistics say that most often type 2 diabetes is observed in middle-aged people (that is, after 40-45 years), suffering from too much weight.
The mechanism for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes is as follows: the pancreas produces insulin in the usual mode, but the sensitivity of the body to its production is reduced. As a result of this process, blood sugar accumulates, while tissue cells experience "starvation" (in terms of energy).
The main causes of type 2 diabetes can be:
- A very sedentary and most often unhealthy lifestyle.
- Weight is much higher than normal.
- The use of dishes in the diet, including fats, carbohydrates (not complex, but simple) and, of course, carcinogens.
- Giardiasis
Symptoms of the appearance of type 2 diabetes
Sometimes a person does not pay any attention to the characteristic signs of the disease, since he does not feel a significant change in health in general for the worse. Alarming symptoms appear only if the quantitative composition of sugar in the blood is about 10 mmol / L.
The main symptoms of type 2 diabetes are as follows:
- a feeling of dryness in the oral cavity;
- frequent urination;
- the inability to quench thirst in full;
- itching of the mucous membranes;
- the occurrence of furunculosis;
- increased appetite;
- the appearance of fungal infections;
- rather slow wound closure;
- impotence development.
With this information, you are more likely to pay attention to your health and seek help from a medical facility.
Type 2 treatment
Of all types of diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2), the second is the least dangerous. But to neglect the trip to the doctor and treatment of the detected ailment is still not worth it.
What is the treatment for non-insulin-dependent diabetes? With this type of diabetes, the doctor prescribes medications, the use of which is aimed at eliminating the patient’s immunity to such a hormone as insulin. If these measures do not give proper results, then they switch to substitution therapy. It involves the introduction of insulin.
In this case, the patient is recommended:
- Significantly limit the use of simple (fast) carbohydrates and all kinds of sweets.
- Constantly carry out control measurements of your weight.
- Limit the amount of servings at each meal.
- Perform regular physical exercises.
Type 2 diabetes in pregnant women
Gestational form of diabetes can also be observed in women carrying babies. This happens as a result of the fact that during this period the mother’s body needs more insulin, but it is produced in an amount insufficient for normal regulation of blood sugar. Particularly acute question arises in the second half of bearing the fetus. But, pregnant women should not worry - immediately after childbirth, everything normalizes.
Four phases of diabetes
Considering the types of diabetes (2 types and 1), one can observe several stages of the development of the disease:
- The easiest course of the disease, which can be very easily corrected with a diet.
- Small complications appear due to a slight increase in blood glucose.
- The quantitative composition of glucose increases to 15 mmol / L. At this stage, the disease is already difficult to treat.
- In this case, the quantitative content of glucose in the blood is already about 30 mmol / L. At this stage, there is even a risk of death.
Prevention of diabetes
In order to prevent all types of diabetes, certain measures are recommended. So, you should be more careful about what you eat, and significantly reduce the calorie content of the products present on your table.
When choosing products, adhere to the principle of "traffic light":
- Products that can be figuratively classified as “red” are strictly contraindicated for diabetics. These are all kinds of sweets, bakery products, rice, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, sweet juices, carbonated drinks, beer, instant cereals and fatty foods.
- "Green light" is lit only for dairy products, meat and fish (cooked by boiling), zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, green salad, orange (or apple) juice, pears, cherries and plums.
- All other products are classified as yellow, that is, they can be consumed only in reasonable quantities.
In addition, exercise should be given to the muscles in the form of exercise (in moderation) to normalize weight. Walk more (better outdoors) and be less in front of a computer or in a horizontal position.
The likelihood that any type of diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2) will bypass you if you adhere to the above recommendations is about 65-75%.
In case of unpleasant sensations, immediately seek help from doctors.
Classification of diabetes
What types of diabetes are there, and by what signs are they classified? All of them differ due to the causes of pathology and the nature of the impact on the human body. The combination of all the symptoms that appear in the patient, allows for an accurate diagnosis of the disease and prescribe the necessary treatment.
Types of diabetes in children
Basically, type 1 diabetes is observed in children, which develops rather quickly and is very difficult. Symptoms are the same as in adults:
- the impossibility of quenching to the full extent of thirst;
- frequent and very profuse urination,
- fairly quick weight loss.
Type 2 diabetes is also found in children, but this is extremely rare. Parents need to be more attentive to the characteristic manifestations of diabetes and, at the first sign, immediately contact a medical institution with their child.
What type of diabetes signals a violation of carbohydrate metabolism
Finally, we clarify how many types of diabetes are distinguished depending on the degree of regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. There are three of them:
- compensated;
- subcompensated;
- decompensated.
During the treatment of the first type of disease, it is possible to achieve a normal state of health of the patient. That is, the sugar level returns to normal, and its presence is not detected in the urine.
The treatment of a subcompensated form of diabetes does not produce the excellent results mentioned above. But at this stage, as a result of therapy, it is possible to achieve a completely stable state of the patient’s health, reduce the quantitative composition of glucose in the blood (approximately to 13.5-13.9 mmol / l) and prevent loss of sugar (up to 50 g per day); as well as the complete disappearance of acetone in the urine.
The worst case is with a decompensated form of the disease. With it, it is difficult to reduce the quantitative content of glucose in the blood, improve carbohydrate metabolism and achieve the disappearance of acetone in the urine. At this stage, there is even a risk of hyperglycemic coma.
Hidden SD
Talking about the types of diabetes and their differences, one cannot but mention latent diabetes, the symptoms of which are not very pronounced, and the quantitative composition of glucose in the blood is not increased. It turns out that there seems to be nothing to worry about. But keep in mind that this is essentially a time bomb. If the problem is not immediately identified, then in the future it may well develop into a full-fledged diabetes with all the ensuing consequences.
Other types of diabetes
What types of diabetes can still be? The development of the disease can occur in completely different ways. It depends on many factors. So, by the nature of the course, two types of diabetes are distinguished:
- Labile. It is characterized by unpredictability and a severe form of flow. During the day, the quantitative composition of blood sugar can change several times. This is the difficulty in selecting the optimal dose of insulin. A similar form is often observed in representatives of the younger generation. The consequences of the disease: impaired functioning of the kidneys and organs of vision.
- Stable. This form is characterized by mild symptoms and a fairly uniform course of the disease (that is, without any sudden changes in glucose levels).
Finally
Now you fully own information about the types of diabetes and their differences. You can adequately assess your state of health in order to make a final decision whether to go or not to see a doctor. Think, decide, just do not delay with the adoption of the only correct answer.