Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes — is a condition in which a person has high blood sugar either because the body doesn't produce enough insulin or because cells don't respond to the insulin that is produced. This high blood sugar produces the classical symptoms of frequent urination, increased thirst and increased hunger.
There are three main types of diabetes:
All forms of diabetes have been treatable since insulin became available in 1921, and type 2 diabetes may be controlled with medications. Both type 1 and 2 are chronic conditions that usually cannot be cured. Diabetes without proper treatments can cause many complications. Acute complications include hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, or nonketotic hyperosmolar coma. Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, retinal damage. Adequate treatment of diabetes is thus important, as well as blood pressure control and lifestyle factors such as smoking cessation and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Stay alert in recognizing early symptoms of diabetes. Certain symptoms put you on notice and you'll want to decrease the chance of developing into complications. You'll do yourself a lot of good with early treatment if necessary to maintain optimum health.
What are the symptoms of diabetes? The early stages of diabetes have very few symptoms, so you may not know you have the disease. But damage may already be happening to your eyes, your kidneys and your cardiovascular system even before you notice symptoms. Symptoms of diabetes may include the following:
Who is at risk for diabetes? You are at increased risk for diabetes if:
There are three main types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes: results from the body's failure to produce insulin, and presently requires the person to inject insulin.
- Type 2 diabetes: results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly, sometimes combined with an absolute insulin deficiency.
- Gestational diabetes: is when pregnant women, who have never had diabetes before, have a high blood glucose level during pregnancy. It may precede development of type 2 DM.
All forms of diabetes have been treatable since insulin became available in 1921, and type 2 diabetes may be controlled with medications. Both type 1 and 2 are chronic conditions that usually cannot be cured. Diabetes without proper treatments can cause many complications. Acute complications include hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, or nonketotic hyperosmolar coma. Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, retinal damage. Adequate treatment of diabetes is thus important, as well as blood pressure control and lifestyle factors such as smoking cessation and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Stay alert in recognizing early symptoms of diabetes. Certain symptoms put you on notice and you'll want to decrease the chance of developing into complications. You'll do yourself a lot of good with early treatment if necessary to maintain optimum health.
What are the symptoms of diabetes? The early stages of diabetes have very few symptoms, so you may not know you have the disease. But damage may already be happening to your eyes, your kidneys and your cardiovascular system even before you notice symptoms. Symptoms of diabetes may include the following:
- Extreme thirst
- Extreme hunger
- Frequent urination
- Sores or bruises that heal slowly
- Dry, itchy skin
- Unexplained weight loss
- Blurry vision
- Unusual tiredness or drowsiness
- Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
- Frequent or recurring skin, gum, bladder or vaginal yeast infections
Who is at risk for diabetes? You are at increased risk for diabetes if:
- You're older than 45 years of age
- You're overweight
- You don't exercise regularly
- Your parent, brother or sister has diabetes
- You gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds or you had gestational diabetes while you were pregnant
- You're African American, Hispanic American/Latino, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander