What is diabetes?
What is diabetes? Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar due to the body’s inability to produce or use insulin effectively, and this can lead to serious health problems over time if left untreated. The disorder can occur when the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or when cells don’t respond properly to the insulin that the pancreas does make.
Types of Diabetes
There are many types of diabetes, two of them are main types: type 1 and type 2.
In this part of the article, there are four types of diabetes.
1. Type 1 diabetes
2. Type 2 diabetes
3. Gestational diabetes
4. Prediabetes
Type 1 diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, your pancreas makes little or no insulin. This means that your body can't move glucose from your blood into cells for energy. With type 1 diabetes, you'll need to take insulin shots (either a syringe or an insulin pump) several times per day and adjust how much you eat depending on how much food and exercise you get. With good treatment, most people with type 1 diabetes live long, healthy lives and are able to manage their disease without complications.
Type 2 diabetes
As much as 90% of type 2 diabetes cases are thought to be preventable through healthy lifestyle choices like maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and eating right. Through consistent physical activity, you can also help improve your blood sugar levels and reduce your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. In addition to a healthy diet, following a safe and structured exercise plan will also help you maintain a healthy weight and control your blood sugar levels. Your doctor may also prescribe metformin if diet and exercise aren't enough to lower blood sugar levels. Metformin is an oral medication that lowers blood glucose by helping the body more effectively use insulin. It works best when taken along with another form of treatment such as diet or exercise, but it's very effective on its own when paired with these interventions.
Gestational diabetes
The exact cause of gestational diabetes is unknown, but several risk factors have been associated with developing it. Some of these include having a family history of diabetes and being overweight or obese. Additionally, if you developed gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy you may be at greater risk for developing it again in future pregnancies. However, there are no proven preventative measures that can reduce your risk for developing gestational diabetes in your next pregnancy. A high-calorie diet before conception has been shown to increase your risk.
Prediabetes
You might not know you have it, but chances are you or someone you know has prediabetes. This condition, in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes, affects 86 million Americans (30% of adults) and puts them at risk for developing full-blown type 2 diabetes within five years. If left untreated, that disease can lead to heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations. That’s why it’s important to know if you have prediabetes and what steps you can take now to prevent type 2 diabetes and its related complications.
Causes of diabetes
According to WebMD, there are four types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, gestational diabetes and prediabetes. Each requires a different approach to treatment. Type 1 Diabetes : Type 1 occurs when your body doesn't produce insulin and you can't live without daily insulin injections. Sometimes people with type 1 will also require other medications as well, such as pills that help your body use insulin properly. While it's manageable with proper care, many complications from type 1 have been linked to poorly controlled blood sugar levels .
Symptoms of diabetes
The most common symptom of Type 1 diabetes is frequent urination. Because your body cannot absorb all of the sugar in your blood, excess sugar gets eliminated through urine. Over time, your blood becomes more concentrated and thicker. As a result, you have to urinate more often than usual, which leads to increased thirst and increased hunger. You may also feel very tired and have blurred vision.
Treatment of diabetes
Treatment for diabetes falls into two broad categories, medications and lifestyle changes. Medications include a wide range of treatments, such as insulin therapy and oral medication. Insulin can be delivered in different ways – it can be injected under your skin with a syringe or pen, or administered through an insulin pump. If you have type 1 diabetes, you'll probably need to inject yourself with insulin on a daily basis. If you have type 2 diabetes, there are still likely to be occasions when you need to take insulin—but less often than if you had type 1. It's also worth noting that people with type 2 may eventually require more intensive treatment options if efforts at lifestyle modification fail over time.
