Diabetes
Diabetes is a killer; in fact, it is among the top ten killers of adults in the United States. "It can lead to, or contribute to, a number of other serious diseases" (Sizer and Whitney 112). Diabetes means "syphon" or "to run through" (Sizer and Whitney 112) therefore denoting the increase in urinary volume excreted by people suffering from this disease. Mellitus means "sweet". Diabetes mellitus means increased excretion of sugars being released with the urine, creating a sweet smell at the time of elimination. The patient with this type of disease has a problem with his insulin production or usage. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland, that helps to digest the sugars and use them for energy, and must be given through an injection into the arms or legs; if this is not done the gastrointestinal enzymes in a person's stomach will digest the hormone. A diabetic does not produce adequate insulin or cannot use his own. Diabetes mellitus is not a single disease. This is a heterogeneous syndrome for which several theories of etiology (explanation of the cause of the disease) have been proposed (WebMd Health). Diabetes is a life-threatening disease, but it is not a death sentence. With proper maintenance of insulin, exercise, and diet, diabetes can be controlled. Advances in medicine will create a larger variety of treatment options and help remove the stigma, as well as fears, associated with diabetes.
The signs and symptoms of diabetes are divided into early, secondary, and late signs. Some of the early signs include polyuria (excessive urination) and thirst; another sign can also be a sweet smell from urine. This odor is due to the loss of water through promoting cellular dehydration. Polyuria is the result of large amounts of glucose, ketone bodies, and protein being excreted by the kidney; an osmotic effect of sugar attracts water and promotes diuresis. The secondary signs include nausea and vomiting, dry mucous membranes with cracked lips, hot flushed skin, abdominal pain and or rigidity, acetone odor of the breath, soft eyeballs because of dehydration, and kidney disease. Other signs include impaired vision or blindness resulting from cataracts and damaged retinas, nerve damage, skin damage, and strokes and heart attacks. The root cause of all of these symptoms is probably the same (Sizer and Whitney 113). Late symptoms includ...
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...diseases. Signs and symptoms also vary; they are broken down into early, secondary, and late. Complications also fluctuate depending on the lifestyle and control that the patient has over his insulin. First signs are not good to have and most are, overlooked by the patient. Treatments can range from simple injections to the use of more complicated machinery. Diabetes does not choose a specific race, age, or gender, but any person is at risk. Depending on the diabetic's lifestyle and habits in everyday life, longevity and normal living will triumph.
Works Cited
American Diabetes Association. 10 March 2005.
Apgar, Ellen. Telephone interview. 09 March 2005.
Boone, Ria. Personal interview. 14 March 2005.
Cordy, Eric. Telephone interview. 2 March 2005.
Luckmann Joan, and Karen Creason Sorensen. Medical-Surgical Nursing: A Psychological Approach. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1980.
Sizer, Frances, and Eleanor Whitney. Nutrition Concepts and Controversies. Eighth edition. Australia: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2000.
WebMd Health. 2003. WebMd Corporation. 22 Jan. 2005 .
International Diabetes Federation. What is Treatment for Diabetes? 20 Jan. 2004. .
Diabetes is a very serious disease that takes many lives each year. It is a lifelong disease that can be fatal to both adults and children if it is uncontrolled. Diabetes does not have to be fatal if certain precautions are taken. If diabetics maintain a healthy diet and watch their carbohydrate intake they can keep their diabetes under control. Monitoring blood sugar is also necessary to live a healthy life. If diabetics know the right way of maintaining their diabetes, they can live a very normal and active life.
Diabetes is a disease in which a person’s body in unable to make or utilize insulin properly which affects blood sugar levels. Insulin is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas, which helps to regulate glucose (sugar) levels, break down carbohydrates and fats, and is essential to produce the body’s energy. The CDC (2013) offers reliable insight, summarized here, into the different types of diabetes, some causes, and health complications that may arise from the disease.
Is a multisystem disease related to abnormal insulin production, impaired insulin utilization, or both. Diabetes Mellitus is a serious health problem throughout the world. It is the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S. It is the leading cause of heart disease, stroke, adult blindness, and nontraumatic lower limb amputations.
Whatever diabetic stage or type you are at, it is important that you are proactive with your health and treatment. Always be discussing treatments with your doctor or health provider.
All in all, my mother’s family who suffered from diabetes were considered to be obese. Although medications, exercise, or dieting will not for sure cure anyone, had they taken better precautions it is possible they may have lived a longer life. Being a genetic trait in my family I find it important to work out and watch what I eat so that I can avoid getting any types of diabetes. Make it your goal to be aware of what you are doing in your everyday life because you never knew if what you eat or do today will affect you tomorrow.
Wardlaw, G.M. and Smith. Contemporary Nutrition: Issues and Insights. 5th Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp 85, 2004.
Although there are many symptoms for Diabetes, many people fail to see the signs or they choose to ignore them. One sign is frequent urine output, this is caused by high amounts of glucose in the urine. Too much urine output can then lead to dehydration, leading to increased thirst. A human with early signs of diabetes may also experience an increase in appetite and fatigue. The Fluctuations in glucose level can even lead to blurred vision. Some of these signs may not seem too serious at first but when left untreated it can lead to even bigger symptoms such as infections in the gums, skin, bladder or even vaginal areas. It also effects the healing process of the body, sores that normally wouldn’t take long to heal can take more than twice the time normally needed. In more serious cases ...
Diabetes Insipidus is the less known form of diabetes. It is often accompanied by excess urine outflow, intake of fluid, and an increased thirst. Bedwetting due to lack of control and frequency, and an unusual concentration of urine is included. There are four types of DI, and each are completely different in treatment and causes. Most commonly, the cause is the lack of vasopressin, which concentrates urine to reduce its output. It is called pituitary DI because it is usually caused by the destruction of the back of the pituitary gland. It cannot be cured, but drugs can help with symptoms. Gestational DI is caused by pregnancy and usually disappears a few weeks after delivery. The placenta uses the vasopressin too fast and causes it. The symptoms are repressed the same way as pituitary DI. The third type of DI is caused by the kidneys inability to respond to the effects of vasopressin, called nephrogenic DI. It is resulted from drugs against kidney diseases, and could (or could not) be cured only by eliminating the drug or disease. Drugs can be prescribed to alleviate some of the symptoms. The fourth, primary polydipsia, is caused by excessive intake of fluids and has two subcategories. Dipsogenic DI is most common and usually associated with an abnormality in the brain that regulates thirst. Psychogenic polydipsia is caused by psychosomatic issues. Neither one can be completely treated.
In people with diabetes insipidus, the kidneys can pass 3 to 20 quarts of urine a day. As a result, a person with diabetes insipidus may feel the need to drink large amounts of liquids. The symptoms of diabetes insipidus are: Excessive thirst, Excessive urine volume. Excessive thirst: that may be intense or uncontrollable, usually with the need to drink large amounts of water or craving for ice water.
Since 1916, the United States Department of Agriculture (the government agency responsible for all U.S. policy regarding agriculture, food, and farming) has revised their recommendations several times. Unfortunately, money talks and the USDA’s recommendations are based on outdated science and are influenced by people with business interest. Even so, its recommendations are considered almost “holy” by physicians, nutritionists, and dieters, but in reality, they are the root cause of the problem. A single visit to our local public school cafeteria and it will become clear that they do not have the best interests of the children at heart. What they are feeding our innocent children is preposterous. Doctors, the people we trust and expect to be “the experts”, do not know much about the subject of nutrition. A vast majority of medical schools in the U.S. require just 25-30 hours or less of nutrition training, and some do not require at all. So doctors must rely on the ...
There is no specific treatment for diabetes. When the doctor diagnoses diabetes he or she will want to lower the blood sugar level and prohibit problems with the disorder. Especially for type 2, the doctor will want to lower the body's resistance to insulin. Involved in the treatment program is weight loss, diet, exercise and prescribed medication. Patients must check their blood glucose levels several times a day by using a glucose meter that measures glucose level with only one drop of blood. The program for every patient is different, designed for the specific patient.
There are a few types of Diabetes. There is Type 1. Type 1 is usually diagnosed before puberty. In a type 1 diabetic, the body no longer makes insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. Type 2 Diabetes usually affects adults. Children who are overweight may get type 2. With type 2 the body still produces insulin just not enough. Another form of diabetes is Gestational Diabetes. This only
Type 1 diabetes can also be a result of something in the environment, for example a virus, tells your immune system to go after your pancreas. Many people that have type 1 diabetes have signs of this attack, which is called autoantibodies. They’re present in almost everyone who has the condition when their blood sugar is high. Treatment can be used to help monitor the body's insulin and blood sugar levels, but it cannot be permanently cured. Type 1 diabetes can last many years or forever. The effects of this diabetes are dehydration, blurred vision, nausea, stomach pain, dry mouth, weight loss, body damage, and many other
Diabetes is a disease that I came across when researching my maternal side of my family history. Diabetes is a disease that affects your pancreas an important organ in regulating blood sugar. When a person has diabetes there are two ways it can affect the pancreas because there are two types of the disease. Type-1 diabetes affects the pancreas by not allowing the body to produce enough insulin to keep the body’s blood sugar at a healthy number. The opposite is for Type-2 which produces too much insulin and gives the body too much insulin keeping the blood sugar number above healthy (Type-2).
“Diabetes mellitus (sometimes called "sugar diabetes") is a condition that occurs when the body can't use glucose (a type of sugar) normally. Glucose is the main source of energy for the body's cells. The levels of glucose in the blood are controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is made by the pancreas. Insulin helps glucose enter the cells” (Diabetes Mellitus).