What is Diabetes?

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is a condition in the body that is related to a faulty metabolism. Diabetes spells bad news for you because it means that the body's metabolism is not functioning properly and that leads to adverse effects in your health. When we ingest food, the food gets broken down into blood sugar, in other words, glucose, which is what fuels our body in the form of energy. This converted glucose needs to enter our cells so that it can be used for energy and growth. And in order for the glucose to enter our cells, there needs to be insulin present, which the pancreas are responsible for producing. However at times, there are certain conditions due to which glucose levels become elevated in the body and manifest in the form of hyperglycemia. This happens when the body produces less insulin, no insulin or has faulty cells that do not respond to the insulin produced. And therefore the end result is that the body has no insulin to transport the glucose into our cells for growth and energy. How do you get diabetes? That's how.

Symptoms of Diabetes

          The following are a few diabetes symptoms: 

          Frequent urination
          Feeling thirsty all the time
          Extreme hunger
           Developing dry and itchy skin
           Blurred eyesight
           Tingling feet
           Sudden and unexplained weight loss
            Developing sores that heal slowly
            Feeling extreme and constant fatigue
             Frequent skin problems and infections
      

  Types of Diabetes

There are mainly three types of diabetes. They are as follows:

Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes Mellitus is usually of two types. These are:

Type 1
In the type 1 diabetes, the body produces no insulin at all. This is a chronic condition, which means that it is present for lifetime and there is no cure for it. The only thing that can be done is that the patient needs to be injected with insulin regularly, along with maintaining a strict diabetic diet and following it up with exercises. This type of diabetes can be caused by a genetic disorder and most often occurs before a person is 30 years of age.

Type 2
How do you get diabetes that fall in the type 2 category? Type 2 diabetes develops when the body does not produce enough insulin or the body does not respond to the insulin that is produced due to the faulty cells. This condition is chronic and lifelong as well. So like the treatment for type 1 diabetes, there needs to be regular insulin tablets given. There also needs to be a special diet maintained and regular exercises performed. If the condition is severe, then insulin injections may need to be given. This type of diabetes can be caused by lack of exercise, age, obesity and in some cases as a genetic condition. This can develop after a person is 35, but it has been known to develop in children as well.

Gestational Diabetes
This type of diabetes develops in women only when they are pregnant. So how do you get diabetes during pregnancy and why does this happen? When a woman is pregnant, there are a surge of varied hormones that are produced. These hormones sometimes lead to a -pregnant woman developing resistance to the insulin just like the other two types of diabetes. Gestational diabetes (GD) also comes about because the body cannot use the insulin that is produced, effectively. This usually affects a woman in her second trimester and goes away after the birth of the baby. However, developing GD can put a woman at risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in her life or developing GD with every pregnancy that follows. It can also lead to certain health problems in their children like childhood obesity or the risk of developing diabetes in later life.

Diabetes Insipidus
This form of diabetes is caused when there is an abnormal increase in the levels of urine. This is also accompanied by increased fluid intake and experiencing excessive thirst. This is often accompanied by symptoms such as constant awakening at night to pee (nocturia), constant and frequent urination, bed wetting also known as enuresis. This happens because the urine output is unable to be concentrated normally.

Diabetes insipidus is of four types:
Neurogenic - Which is caused by a deficiency of the antidiuretic hormone - vasopressin.
Gestagenic - A deficiency of the antidiuretic hormone, vasopressin causes this kind of DI and it occurs only during pregnancy.
Nephrogenic - This deficiency comes about due to the insensitivity of the kidneys to the effect of the antidiuretic hormone, vasopressin.
Dipsogenic - Is caused by abnormal thirst and the excessive intake of water and other liquids
Impact of Diabetes

Diabetes can lead to a lot of long term complications and health risks. Some of which are heart diseases, kidney failure, heart strokes, blindness, gangrene leading to amputations, nerve damage and others. That is why there is a need to be aware of diabetes and treat it immediately.