Diabetes, type 1



It’s a condition which is chronic in nature and is caused due to more amount of sugar content in the blood. The statistics show that there are almost 2.3 million people around UK who suffer from this condition. The amount of sugar is controlled by the hormone called insulin, which is also responsible for breaking down the glucose into energy. During the condition, the body is not able to break down the food into energy particles and hence gets into this condition. The condition is classified in two types, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is the condition which happens due to body not being able to produce any insulin and leading to insulin dependent diabetes.

Symptoms

The symptoms include feeling thirsty, excessive discharge of urine, being tired, weight loss and also loss of muscle bulk. There can be other symptoms which lead to blurring in vision, skin infections, constipations and itching around vagina or penis. If the consumption of insulin is too high, skipping of meal, drinking of alcohol over empty stomach leads to low blood glucose. Symptoms in this case are feeling of being shaky, sweating, tingling lips, feeling weak. It can be controlled with the proper eating habits. If the blood glucose levels become high it leads to high blood glucose. Symptoms are worse in this case leading to extreme thirst, a dry mouth, a frequent need to pass urine. If it is left untreated, then it leads to the death of the patient.

Causes

The exact causes are not fully understandable and it’s believed that it’s an auto-immune condition. The condition also runs through families. Diabetes occurs when our body is unable to produce insulin, a hormone needs to control the glucose in the body.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is extremely important and needs to be done as early as possible to curb the problem in time. The blood tests may be needed for finding the glucose. In most cases, a urine test as well as blood test may also be needed for ascertaining the correct condition of the patient. Based on the results of the tests, symptoms can be crossed out to point to the actual condition. At the time of diagnosis, doctors may also want to check the full history of the patient and parents, since it can be genetic also.

Treatment

The condition can not be cured but the treatments are for trying to keep the blood sugar levels down, relieving the symptoms. There can be insulin treatments, insulin injections, pump therapy, jet system and monitoring of blood glucose levels as different types of available treatments. People can also go for self treatment apart from normal medical treatment going on in parallel. Insulin injections can be purchased from over the counter based on doctor’s prescription. The method of injecting the insulin injection can be demonstrated by the doctor to the nurse, close friends or relatives of the patient. Insulin pump used by adults, teenagers, kids is another device for insulating insulin into the human body.

Self Help

You can control the insulin by controlling the diet and doing regular exercise in conjunction.

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