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a doctor explaining what diabetes is

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus, or diabetes, is the term for a group of metabolic diseases and describes the initial and main of all diabetes symptoms - excretion of sugar in the urine. In the early days, the urine was tested to detect whether the increased sugar content had made it sweeter or not.

Diabetes is the collective term for various (heterogeneous) metabolic abnormalities that affect the blood. The reason behind this disease is either scarcity of insulin or the body's not accepting of insulin or both. Depending on the cause there are different types of this disease which are based on unifying similarities. To increase the awareness of this disease, November 14 is celebrated as World Diabetes Day.

Important Diabetes Symptoms

Diabetes has two variations, Type 1 and Type 2. Fast loss of weight with dehydration and the feeling of being thirsty all the time are the first signs of Type 1 Diabetes. Frequent urination or vomiting and occasional leg cramps and abdominal pain are also common diabetes symptoms. Feeling fatigued or weak with lack of concentration or vision issues are other signs. Headaches are experienced too.

No superficial symptoms are noticed in many patients of Type 2 of this disease for a long period of time. In contrast to type 1 diabetes, type 2 is rarely associated with weight loss and only a massive increase in blood glucose levels with increased urination and thirst are seen. Often at the beginning, non-specific symptoms such as fatigue and weakness, blurred vision and tendency to infections such as bladder infections are common. Because of these non-definite symptoms, diagnoses are often delayed until it is done accidentally at a much later stage. The good news is that plenty of diabetes treatments are available these days.

Diabetes Treatments

The hormone insulin is absent in case of Type 1 diabetes. The body gets insulin in the form of artificial drugs. The aim of this insulin therapy is not to cure type 1 diabetes but to replace the lack of endogenous insulin, so this therapy will last a lifetime. There is no treatment to date for fixing this disease. An insulin pump can help patients keep tabs on their glucose content and they can take care of their therapy. The continuous blood glucose monitoring is technically mature.

In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistances are increased by movement and reduced weight loss among others. The level of sugar is reduced and patients lose weight. Most diabetics who are suffering from obesity must make lifestyle alterations. Diabetes can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so it is necessary to be aware of various symptoms to receive treatment as soon as diagnosed.

Last Updated: November 08, 2017