Diabetes is a disease that affects young and old alike although in different forms. In this medical condition, the body has extremely high blood sugar levels because of the body’s inability to produce or its reaction to insulin. Babies are born with Type 1 diabetes or it develops during childhood when the body cannot produce the insulin it needs to keep the blood sugar within acceptable levels.
During pregnancy many women develop gestational diabetes. These women have never had the condition prior to the pregnancy and it goes away on its own when the baby is born. Another common type of this disease is Type 2 diabetes in which the body develops a resistance to the insulin which is naturally created in the body and this results in a deficiency that also leads to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar levels.
The common symptoms to watch for with this medical condition include:
- excessive thirst
- excessive excretion of fluid from the kidneys
- blurred vision
- loss of weight for no apparent reason
- a feeling of sluggishness or tiredness
Since the discovery of insulin in 1921, this disease can be treated, but it cannot be cured. Insulin is just one form of treatment, though. Before doctors prescribe insulin, they advise patients to follow a strict diet and get plenty of exercise. There are medications that patients can take to help control the disease in the form of tablets and it is only when all other treatments fail that doctors prescribe insulin because it has to be taken by injection.
When it is not treated, diabetes can lead to other potentially fatal conditions, such as heart disease and stroke, blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage. The increased blood sugar levels also a affect a patient’s healing ability from cuts or infections. The feet are prone to infection, which can lead to gangrene.
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