Diabetes in Figures
According to WHO statistics, there are 1.5 million direct deaths due to diabetes in 2012, while the number of people with diabetes is about 422 million infected in 2014 According to WHO estimates, the International Diabetes Federation estimates that the number of infected people will reach 642 million by 2040.
What is diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease, resulting either from a lack of insulin production from the pancreas, or inability of the body’s cells to respond to insulin, which leads to higher blood glucose level than normal.
Patterns of Diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes: the first type (the type) that is produced when the human body is unable to produce insulin due to a defect in the work of the immune system, where the immune cells attack the cells producing insulin (beta cells) in the pancreas, while type (II) The most common result is the inability of the body’s cells to respond to insulin, despite the efficiency and capacity of the pancreas to produce insulin, due to an unknown reason.
Children and young people are the most vulnerable to type 1 diabetes, while the second type of diabetes is common among people over the age of 45. Another less common type of diabetes is diagnosed and first discovered during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes.
Symptoms of diabetes
As for the common symptoms of diabetes, the patient noted a number of symptoms, such as increased urination even during the night, and the constant thirst caused by the loss of fluids from the body because of urination, diabetes also causes extreme hunger, in addition to constant fatigue without effort, , Slow wound healing. These symptoms are not very different in the first type of type II, but the symptoms in the second type are less severe, and this delay the detection and diagnosis of those infected.
Symptoms of the first pattern
There are many similar symptoms between type I and type II, but there are some symptoms of patients with the first type, the most important of which are:
- Extreme thirst.
- The dramatic increase in urination rate.
- Feeling tired.
- Loss of muscle mass, and unexplained weight loss.
- Concussions and sudden intestinal colic.
- Misty vision due to eye dryness.
- Skin infections, with itching around the genitals.
Symptoms of the second pattern
The second type of diabetes is slowly exacerbated. It takes many years for the patient to develop, as well as for the symptoms that are gradually formed. This makes the patients of the second type unaware of their condition. They discover that they have been infected by periodic tests, not by symptoms. The main symptoms of the second type:
- The constant feeling of hunger, and the feeling of hunger after eating in a short period of time.
- Feeling tired and tired especially after eating meals.
- Feeling thirsty.
- Increased urination especially at night.
- Misty vision.
- The feeling of itching especially around the genitals.
- Slow wound healing.
- Recurrent infection with fungal infections.
- Sudden weight loss.
- Skin pigmentation especially in the neck and armpit area.
Complications of Diabetes
People with diabetes are at risk of many diseases and health problems due to high or low blood sugar, but these complications can be prevented or delayed by keeping the sugar level within normal levels. The complications of diabetes are divided into two parts depending on the period of time that these complications require to develop and develop in the patient: type I; acute complications caused by the sudden change of blood sugar level; type II; chronic complications that need a long time to develop and appear on the patient. The following are the most important complications associated with diabetes:
Acute complications
- Lack of sugar level Hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia occurs due to increased insulin efficacy, due to impaired insulin doses or doses of glucose-lowering drugs, or an imbalance in the dose of insulin or medications with meals. Deficiency of hypoglycemia is known as hypoglycemia (72 mg / dl). Symptoms of fatigue, general weakness, arrhythmias, high heart rate, and excessive sweating begin to appear on the patient. Diabetic hypoglycemia is treated by eating 15-20 g sugars of simple absorption (simple sugars) such as glucose. The patient is advised to take glucose tablets for such cases, or to drink beverages containing high amounts of sugar, such as juices, Tablets, with attention to avoid giving any oral substance if the patient is unconscious.
- Diabetic ketone acidosis Diabetic ketoacidosis The high level of ketones in the urine occurs due to lack of insulin hormone in the body, often with the first type of diabetes mellitus because the cells of the pancreas are damaged and unable to produce insulin. When the level of insulin in the body is low, it is difficult for glucose to enter the cells of the body to be used as an energy source, and this leads to the body to break fat to produce energy, and the process of breaking fat secondary compounds, such as acid ketones. Mainly depending on the breakdown of fat to produce energy due to lack of insulin leads to the accumulation of acid ketones in the blood to begin the following symptoms appear:
- Vomiting.
- Drought.
- Hyperventilation (increased breathing frequency).
- High heart rate.
- Confusion and confusion.
- The coma.
- Emit acetone-like odor from the mouth.
- Diabetic ketoacidosis is treated with intravenous fluid replacement, and the patient is given doses of insulin to convert the energy source from fat breaking down to breaking down glucose to reduce the production of acid ketones.
- Lactoneous cytoskeleton syndrome of sugar Hyperoxmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome is a serious complication caused by the high blood glucose level that may lead to coma or death. Therefore, immediate medical intervention, It is usually recommended to patients of the second type, so it is recommended that patients with the second type of measurement of the level of sugar repeatedly to ensure that the survival at normal rates. The following are the most important warning symptoms of the syndrome of leukocyte neutrophils of sugar:
- Dry mouth.
- High sugar level.
- Extreme thirst.
- High body temperature without sweating.
- Feeling sleepy.
- Loss of vision (blindness).
- Hallucinations.
- Nausea.
- Feeling weak in one hand of the body.
Chronic complications
The high levels of sugar in the blood lead to damage in small blood vessels, resulting in a number of health problems, the most important:
- Peripheral neuropathy Peripheral Diabetic Neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy refers to nerve damage that connects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) to the lower limb muscles. Damage to the upper limbs and back muscles may damage the nerves in rare cases. Diabetics suffer from numbness and numbness, with a burning sensation in the limbs due to damage of these nerves.
- Diabetic Nephropathy Diabetic Nephropathy The kidney is responsible for purifying the blood from the waste, and helps it to do this task from a group of small blood vessels and capillaries, but the chronic rise in blood sugar level adversely affects the health of these vessels and hairs leads to damage, Thus, renal function declines, the pathological condition may worsen to chronic renal failure, and diabetic patients observe renal function decline by appearance of bulges and bulges in the upper and lower limbs.
- Diabetic retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy is the damage of the retinal vessels caused by the chronic rise in blood sugar. It is one of the main causes of blindness in the diabetic group. It is the main cause of the weakness and deterioration of vision in the ages 25-74 years in the United States of America.
- Diabetes and cardiovascular disease Diabetic Heart Disease High levels of sugar in the blood affect large blood vessels and lead to cardiovascular disease. Diabetics are at higher risk of stroke and heart attacks than those who do not. Cardiovascular diseases include:
- Coronary artery disease: High blood sugar levels damage the cardiovascular system, which eventually leads to atherosclerosis, or atherosclerosis. It is the accumulation of fat in the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. Fatty substances lead to partial or total blockage of the arteries, causing cardiac ischemia, and may result in a range of health problems, such as angina, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, or even death.
- Myocardial infarction: Myocardial infarction is a function of pumping blood throughout the body so that the heart does not match the body’s actual need, which leads to feeling tired and weak, and decreases the ability of the body to perform physical tasks. Diabetics are at risk for myocardial infarction regardless of other risk factors, such as high blood pressure or coronary artery disease.