What is it?

Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs because the pancreas does not produce the insulin the body needs, or the manufacture of inferior quality. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, is the main substance responsible for maintaining appropriate values of blood sugar. Allows glucose to be transported into cells so that they produce energy or store glucose so that their use is necessary. When it fails, causes an excessive increase in sugar in the blood (hyperglycaemia). In fact, the scientific name of the disease is diabetes mellitus, which means “honey”.

Causes

Diabetes affects 6% of the population. The chances of contracting it increases as a person grows older, so that over seventy suffers about 15% of people. It is essential to educate patients to manage their diabetes properly, it can lead to other diseases as or more important than diabetes itself cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, retinopathy (eye condition that can lead to blindness) and nephropathy (disease kidney). The time of onset of the disease and the causes and symptoms presented by patients, depending on the type of diabetes involved.

* Type 1 diabetes. The most frequent age that appear are childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. Usually occur abruptly and often without regard to family history. It is due to the progressive destruction of pancreas cells, which are those that produce insulin. This has to artificially administered from the beginning of the disease. His particular symptoms are increasing the need to drink and the amount of urine, fatigue and weight loss.
* Type 2 diabetes. It usually develops in older age and is about ten times more frequent than before. In general, given the fact that also suffer or have suffered other members of the family. It arises due to low insulin production, coupled with insufficient use of the substance by the cell. Depending on which of the two predominant defect, the patient is there to deal with diabetes pills or insulin (or a combination of both). There used to show any type of discomfort or specific symptom, so it may go unnoticed by the person concerned for a long time.
* Gestational diabetes. Diabetes is considered an occasional basis. You can control like the other types of diabetes. During pregnancy insulin increases for increasing energy reserves. Sometimes, this increase does not occur and may cause diabetes in pregnancy. Nor have symptoms and the detection is almost always performed after the analysis routine to all pregnant women undergo after 24 weeks of gestation.

The cumulative increase in blood glucose and the amount of ketones in the urine makes this more acidic. Appears in the course of several hours with increased urination and thirst (more rapidly in children). We are weakness and numbness, including vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Sometimes you notice an odor on the breath or fresh fruit that can be confused with the smell of alcohol. Is acetone, a waste product that is expelled through the lungs. In a later stage breathing becomes deeper and faster and, if he loses consciousness, the call goes into diabetic coma.

These symptoms require urgent treatment because they can cause death (USA statistics suggest that in diabetic ketoacidosis death is 1 in 10). Ketoacidosis is more common in undiagnosed diabetics or people with poorly controlled diabetes. Anyway, all is at risk of diabetic ketoacidosis under certain circumstances such as shock, infections, bleeding, fluid loss in vomiting or diarrhea. In these situations it is very important for diabetic monitor your blood glucose and urine and the concentration of ketones in the urine.

Ketoacidosis is necessary for emergency treatment. This involves injecting insulin and intravenous injections of saline to replace lost body fluids. It is necessary monitoring of blood glucose levels and the state of the fluids to equilibrate. If treatment is rapid restoration of ketoacidosis is usually rapid and complete.

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