Diabetes is considered a silent killer because there are no apparent symptoms to be aware of as a pandemic of the 21st century. Furthermore, the more severe the disease, the higher the cost of treatment is the massive financial pressure on patients, families, and society. The incidence of diabetes mellitus has been increasing rapidly over the past ten years. On average, one in eight people will die from the disease. However, up to 65% of patients with diabetes do not recognize themselves, as well as 85% who only detect when severe complications develop. What is diabetes? Causes as well as how to prevent and treat the disease? How to prevent yourself and your family from this dangerous disease? The post will show the best of answer for you.
1. What is diabetes?
In medicine, diabetes is a form of chronic metabolic disorder which affects the body’s ability to use or produce insulin, thereby increasing blood sugar levels. Diabetes can affect the absorption of nutrients, energy intake as well as cause severe problems for the body including the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart.
2. Types of diabetes
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, so instead of attacking external factors, the immune system of type 1 diabetes attacks the pancreas’s cells, leading to insufficient insulin, thereby increasing blood sugar. Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes usually occur quite early and mostly in children and adolescents. However, according to experts, genetic factors and ways of living can be the main culprit for type 1 diabetes. The risk is higher if you are in the following group
– Mother or brother has type 1 diabetes
– Exposure to some pathogenic viruses
– Lack of vitamin D and use cow’s milk or formula derived from cow’s milk early before four months of age also contribute to increased risk of disease.
– Countries like Finland and Sweden have a high prevalence of type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is also known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM), is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for 90% to 95% of all diagnosed patients with diabetes. It usually occurs in adulthood than other ages. However, the number of cases of adolescence is increasing, as obesity rates are rising. You may have type 2 diabetes that is entirely unknown because type 2 diabetes symptoms are quite challenging to identify.
For patients with type 2 diabetes, their cells become resistant to insulin which causes the pancreas not to produce enough insulin. Instead of moving into cells to generate energy, sugar will build up in your bloodstream. The exact reasons for the types of diabetes are unknown, but experts believe that genetic and environmental factors are linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. Besides that overweight is a significant risk factor for developing the disease. However, not all people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Therefore, when you have any type 2 diabetes symptoms, you should see a doctor.
3. Symptoms of diabetes
Patients with diabetes mellitus include type 1 or 2 often developing the following symptoms
– Feeling extremely thirsty
– Urinating a lot, sometimes going regularly every hour
– Losing weight usually occurs in people with type 1 diabetes
– Itching, numbness in the hands or feet commonly seen in people with type 2 diabetes
You may or may not have other symptoms of diabetes like
– Blurred vision
– Frequent vaginal infections in women
– Yeast infections or candidiasis
– Dry mouth
– Slow healing sores or cuts
– Itching of the skin, especially in the groin or vaginal area
As soon as you notice the symptoms of diabetes above,, you should go to the hospital immediately to be examined and treated promptly. Your doctor will prescribe some tests to check if you have diabetes, including
– Hb A1C test
– FPG test for fasting blood glucose
– OGTT test by oral glucose tolerance test
– You will be given some tests if you are suspected of having diabetes
4. Complications of diabetes
Acute complications
Acute complications occur suddenly in the short term, which can be lethargic or even fatal if not promptly treated. In the other case, patients will feel dizzy, trembling, sweating, dizziness, palpitations, etc. Causes of acute complications may be due to an overdose of patients hypoglycemic or insulin, diets too much. Furthermore, if you eat something which you do not allow to eat, it is also the cause.
If hypoglycemia is mild or moderate, patients may need only to eat porridge diluted, soup or drink a glass of sugar and rest. Furthermore, when you refresh, you should be added to the body. In case of severe hypoglycemia, the patient should be promptly taken to emergency and intravenously 30% hypertensive solution. Patients with hyperglycemia may fall into a coma due to ketosis or hyperuricemia syndrome. When the patient falls into this condition, they require close monitoring and treatment in time.
Chronic complications
Diabetes is a disorder of constant glucose metabolism that results in prolonged blood glucose and can lead to some severe complications that can be fatal.
– Cardiovascular injury
It is extremely dangerous and very common complications. The most common is coronary heart disease, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, cerebral paralysis or death. Many statistics show that about 80% of diabetic patients have atherosclerosis which accounts for only 30% in patients without diabetes. More than 75% of patients with diabetes are hospitalized for cardiovascular complications. Coronary artery disease will cause myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and sudden death.
– Neurological injury
It is also the earliest and most common complication of peripheral neuropathy and neurology. Peripheral neuropathy is characterized by decreased sensitivity to the patient, numbness or needle, muscle weakness. These signs often occur in the feet that specifically cause an ulcer. If you do not treat promptly, it can lead to patients to pay high, even death.
– Kidney injury
High blood sugar causes damage to millions of kidney microcircuits, leading to impaired kidney function, kidney failure, and kidney failure.
– Eye injury
Small blood vessels in the retina are prone to blockage, rupture of the eye leads to retinal diseases. On the other hand, diabetes can also cause cataracts, glaucoma, and blindness.
– Infections
Some examples of infections include oral infections, gingivitis, gonorrhea, fungal infections, urinary tract infections, genitals, etc. Moreover, diabetic complications are dangerous, but we can stop it if we control our blood sugar well. In particular, people with diabetes need to control coordinated and associated diseases such as proper blood lipids, good blood pressure to prevent complications. Furthermore, you should seek regular medical care and follow the doctor’s treatment regimen.
5. Diabetes treatment
Although diabetes is not difficult to diagnose, cure of diabetes is often difficult, as 50% of the successful treatment depends on the patient’s diet, movement patterns, and compliance. Statistics show that only about 30% of diabetic patients achieve the goal of treatment and good control of blood sugar. Furthermore, diabetes patients must maintain a low-sugar diet for the rest of their lives. This diet is different depending on the condition of each patient and should be consulted by a doctor.
In addition to eating healthy, patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes need additional injections or taking insulin-boosting medications to control blood glucose levels. Some prescription medications may be prescribed such as
– Drugs that increase insulin production through the pancreas (chlorpropamide, glimepiride, glipizide, and repaglinide)
– Drugs that reduce intestinal absorption (acarbose and miglitol)
– Medicines that improve the body’s ability to use insulin (pioglitazone and rosiglitazone)
– Medicines that reduce the amount of sugar produced by the liver and increase insulin (metformin)
– The drug increases the production of insulin through the pancreas or the body’s blood volume or alleviates glucose from the liver (albiglutide, alogliptin, dulaglutide, linagliptin, exenatide, liraglutide)
– The drug prevents renal glucose uptake and increases glucose excretion in the urine, called Sodium Glucose 2
Prevention diabetes
– Maintain a healthy diet: Eat enough protein, starch, limit sugar, fat, especially animal fat and many vegetables.
– Exercise daily: walking time of about 30 minutes.
– Annual health check-ups for early diagnosis
Until now, there have been no definitive treatments for diabetes. Therefore, the patient should have a reasonable diet and rest to minimize the harm to the disease. It is possible to limit symptoms by medication, but it is important that the patient is aware of the importance of health and proper nutrition, exercise and rest.
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