In terms of the frequency of how the representatives of mankind face various diseases, diabetes mellitus (in short, diabetes) ranks third in the world after oncology and diseases of the cardiovascular system. On the planet, there are now about 110 million people suffering from this chronic disease.
And every 16-18 years the number of cases increases by 2-3 times. And every year SD is getting younger. Scientists, however, cannot yet offer effective drugs that completely cure diabetes.
The main symptoms of this disease:
- unquenchable thirst;
- quite profuse and frequent urination;
- great dry mouth.
There are many types of diabetes. All of them differ not only in their characteristic features of the impact on the body of a particular person and symptoms, but also in the reasons that provoked its occurrence.
A little about diabetes
SD is a rather dangerous pathology of the endocrine system. As a resultthe onset of an ailment in a person’s blood, there is an insufficient amount of insulin, a hormone that delivers glucose (produced from food) to the cells of the body. This gives the tissues the energy they need.
In case of insulin deficiency or a rather poor response of tissues to it, there is a sharp increase in the quantitative content of glucose in the blood, which leads to a very serious condition - hyperglycemia.
When diabetes 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 causes of the disease, there are different types of diabetes.
Note! Regardless of the method of treatment of diabetes, it is almost impossible to achieve a complete cure.
What can cause DM
The types and causes of diabetes can be completely different, but the fact that the cells of the body are deprived of normal nutrition remains constant. Sugar, not getting to its intended purpose, begins to draw water onto itself, which, once in the bloodstream, is brought out. The result is dehydration.
What can trigger diabetes (all types of it):
- A lifestyle that can be classified as sedentary.
- Persistent stressful situations.
- The use of hormonal and diuretic drugs, as well as cytostatics and salicylates for a long time.
- Hereditary predisposition can also do a disservice. Statistics say that if the head of the family has diabetes, then the probability that the child will subsequently develop the same disease is about 7-12%, and if the mother suffers from this disease, then the risk is reduced to 2-3%. If both parents are susceptible to diabetes, then the likelihood that their children will also get sick increases to 75%.
- Weight is very far from the norm (that is, its overabundance).
- Eating plenty of refined and high-calorie foods.
- Constant overeating.
Types of diabetes
There are various types of SD. They differ in the causes of occurrence, the process of the course of the disease and its therapy. But there are 2 main types of diabetes - the first and second types.
And if type 2 diabetes was not diagnosed (you just didn’t go to the doctor) or didn’t undergo high-quality treatment, then there is a threat that it will develop into the first, which is much more difficult to treat and, of course, much more dangerous.
The two types of diabetes, despite 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 hallmark of diabetesType 1 (the so-called insulin-dependent) is a serious deficiency of insulin (it is either absent at all or available, but in very small quantities) due to the destruction of pancreatic cells. Very often, this disease, which appears due to a genetic predisposition, affects the younger generation, in particular adolescents and children. Although other age categories are also at risk.
Type 1 diabetes may well be congenital. Possible reasons for its occurrence can be:
- All kinds of viral infections.
- Nervous disorders.
- Quite a passive lifestyle.
- Disturbances in the functioning of the immune system.
- Heredity. Moreover, it is important that not the disease itself is inherited, but only the predisposition to its occurrence.
- Improper diet, 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, as it is associated with too high blood sugar.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes
The main signs that a person has the described autoimmune disease are:
- Frequent urge (during the day) to urinate.
- The constant desire to quench your thirst. Moreover, even having drunk enough, a person does not get rid of it.
- Rapid weight gain or rapid weight loss.
- Increased or no appetite.
- Irritability for any reason.
- Weakness, drowsiness and a constant feeling of tiredness.
- Significant visual impairment, sometimes leading to blindness.
- Nausea.
- Pain in the abdomen.
- Kidney dysfunction.
- The development of a variety of dermatitis that does not respond well to treatment.
- Pain in the limbs and their numbness associated with impaired circulation.
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 smell of acetone and may also cause bad breath.
What is the danger of type 1 diabetes
The named disease should not be treated negligently. Otherwise, it threatens with the following consequences:
- Amputation of the legs. This may be due to the fact that the blood flow in the limbs is significantly disturbed.
- Myocardial infarction or stroke due to high blood cholesterol.
- Impotence in men. The fact is that blood vessels and nerve endings cease to function normally.
- Obesity.
- Encephalopathy.
- Pancreatitis.
- Dermatitis.
- Nephropathy.
- Hypoglycemic coma. It can be fatal.
First type treatment
Initially, the patientdetermine the quantitative composition of sugar in the blood and then prescribe treatment:
It could 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 a hormone that, participating in the metabolic process, promotes the processing of carbohydrates
By the way, today it has become much more convenient to make such injections than before. For these purposes, syringe pens and pumps are used (they constantly inject the drug under the skin), automatically adjusting the dose of insulin.
Medications may be prescribed to stimulate the production of sufficient insulin in the body of a person with diabetes
It is extremely important that patients with diabetes are constantly monitored by doctors in terms of their current he alth and quantitative blood sugar levels. Patients with diabetes can also carry out daily monitoring of blood sugar levels using special-purpose home devices. In some cases, the doctor gives a referral for the study of urine for the quantitative content of glucose in it.
If you do not carry out a full-fledged therapy for 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 smart: don't take things to the extreme!
Possible causes of type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (so-calledinsulin-independent) 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 to normal values) in the level of sugar in the blood. This disease is metabolic in nature and is not congenital.
Tracking all types of diabetes, statistics show that most often type 2 diabetes occurs in middle-aged people (that is, after 40-45 years old), suffering from too much weight.
The mechanism of type 2 diabetes is as follows: the pancreas produces insulin normally, but the body's sensitivity to its production is reduced. As a result of this process, there is an accumulation of sugar in the blood, while tissue cells experience "starvation" (in terms of energy).
The main causes of type 2 diabetes can be:
- Very sedentary and often unhe althy lifestyle.
- Severely overweight.
- Use in the diet of dishes that include fats, carbohydrates (not complex, but simple) and, of course, carcinogens.
- Giardiasis.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes
Sometimes a person does not pay any attention to the characteristic signs of the disease, because he does not feel a significant change in his general state of he alth for the worse. Anxious symptoms appear only if the quantitative composition of sugar in the blood is about 10 mmol / l.
The main symptoms of type 2 diabetes look like this:
- feeling of dry mouth;
- frequent calls tourination;
- the inability to quench your thirst to the full;
- itching of mucous membranes;
- appearance of furunculosis;
- increased appetite;
- appearance of fungal infections;
- rather slow wound healing;
- development of impotence.
With this information, you will soon pay attention to your he alth and seek help from a medical institution.
Treatment of the second type
Of all the types of diabetes (types 1 and 2), the second is the least dangerous. But you should not neglect going to the doctor and treating the detected ailment.
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 immunity of the patient's body to a hormone such as insulin. If these measures do not give proper results, then they switch to replacement therapy. It involves the administration of insulin.
The patient is recommended:
- Significantly limit the intake of simple (fast) carbohydrates and all kinds of sweets.
- Constantly check your weight.
- Limit the amount of servings at each meal.
- Perform physical exercises regularly.
T2DM in pregnant women
Women carrying babies can also experience gestational diabetes. This happens as a result of the fact that during this period the mother's body needs insulin.more, but it is produced in insufficient quantities for normal regulation of blood sugar. The issue is especially acute in the second half of gestation. But, pregnant women should not worry - immediately after giving birth, everything is normal.
Four phases of development of SD
Considering the types of diabetes mellitus (2 types and 1), you can observe several stages of the development of the disease:
- The mildest course of the disease, which can be very easily corrected with diet.
- There are minor complications due to some 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 DM
In order to prevent all types of diabetes, it is recommended to carry out certain activities. So, you should be more careful about what you eat and significantly reduce the calorie content of the foods on your table.
When choosing products, follow the "traffic light" principle:
- Products that can be figuratively classified as "red" are strictly contraindicated for diabetics. These are all kinds of sweets, baked goods, rice, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, sweet juices, sodas, beer, instant cereals and fatty foods.
- Green light for dairy, meat and fish only(boiled), zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, orange (or apple) juice, pears, cherries and plums.
- All other foods are categorized as "yellow", meaning they can only be consumed in reasonable amounts.
In addition, you should give the muscles a load in the form of exercise (in moderation) to normalize weight. Walk more (preferably outdoors) and less in front of a computer or in a horizontal position.
The chance that any type of diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2) will bypass you if you follow the above recommendations is about 65-75%.
In case of discomfort, seek medical help immediately.
SD Classification
What other types of diabetes are there, and how are they classified? All of them differ in the causes of pathology and the nature of the impact on the human body. The totality of all the symptoms manifested in the patient allows for an accurate diagnosis of the disease and prescribing the necessary treatment.
Types of diabetes in children
Mostly, children have type 1 diabetes, which develops quite quickly and is very difficult. Symptoms are the same as in adults:
- impossibility to quench thirst to the full;
- frequent and very copious urge to urinate,
- fairly rapid weight loss.
T2DM is also found in children,but this happens very rarely. Parents should be more attentive to the characteristic manifestations of diabetes and, at the first sign, immediately contact a medical institution with the child.
Which DM indicates a violation of carbohydrate metabolism
Finally, let's clarify how many types of diabetes mellitus 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 he alth for the patient. That is, the sugar level returns to normal, and its presence is not detected in the urine.
Treatment of subcompensated form of diabetes does not give such excellent results as mentioned above. But at this stage, as a result of therapy, it is possible to achieve a completely stable state of he alth of the patient, reduce the quantitative composition of glucose in the blood (up to approximately 13.5-13.9 mmol / l) and prevent sugar loss (up to 50 g per day); as well as the complete disappearance of acetone in the urine.
The worst situation is with the decompensated form of the disease. With it, it is poorly possible 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 mellitus and their differences, one cannot fail to mention latent diabetes, the symptoms of which are not very pronounced, and the quantitative composition of glucose in the blood is notelevated. It turns out that there is nothing to worry about. But keep in mind that this is essentially a time bomb. If the problem is not identified immediately, then in the future it may well develop into a full-fledged SD with all the ensuing consequences.
Other types of SD
What other types of diabetes can there be? The development of the disease can occur in completely different ways. It depends on many factors. So, according to the nature of the course, two types of diabetes are distinguished:
- Labile. Differs in unpredictability and a severe form of a current. During the day, the quantitative composition of sugar in the blood can change several times. This makes it difficult to select the optimal dose of insulin. A similar form is often observed in representatives of the younger generation. Consequences of the disease: disorders in the functioning of the kidneys and organs of vision.
- Stable. This form is characterized by mild symptoms and a fairly even course of the disease (that is, without any sudden changes in glucose levels).
In conclusion
Now you are fully aware of the types of diabetes and their differences. You can adequately assess the state of your he alth in order to make the final decision whether or not to go to the doctor. Think, decide, just don't delay accepting the only correct answer.
