What is Diabetes Mellitus

30 Jun

Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most common and life-long diseases marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It’s severity may result in dreadful consequences. There are two important factors that cause this disease, too little insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas to regulate blood sugar), resistance to insulin, or both. To understand reasons that lead to DM, it is important to first understand the normal process of food metabolism.

What are type 1 and type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form. It appears most often in middle-aged adults; however, adolescents and young adults are developing type 2 diabetes at an alarming rate. It develops when the body doesn’t make enough insulin and doesn’t efficiently use the insulin it makes (insulin resistance).

Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children and young adults. In type 1, the pancreas makes little or no insulin. Without daily injections of insulin, people with type 1 diabetes won’t survive.

What doesn’t cause diabetes

It’s important to also be aware of the different myths that over the years have arisen about the causes of diabetes.

Eating sweets or the wrong kind of food does not cause diabetes. However, it may cause obesity and this is associated with people developing Type 2 diabetes.

Blood pressure at or above 140/90 mm/Hg.

Abnormal blood fat levels — high density lipoproteins (HDL) less than or equal to 35 mg/dl or triglycerides greater than or equal to 250 mg/dl.

Impaired glucose tolerance and/or high fasting glucose values

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

Unusual tiredness or drowsiness

Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

Frequent or recurring skin, gum, bladder or vaginal yeast infections

Fatigue

Nausea

Vomiting

How is it diagnosed?

Diabetes may be detected during a routine urine test when excess glucose is present.

When symptoms have drawn attention to the problem, a blood test will confirm whether or not the underlying cause is diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus Treatment

The goal of diabetes management is to keep blood glucose levels as close to normal as safely possible. In addition, since diabetes may greatly increase a person’s risk for heart disease, preventative measures for tightly controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels are now an essential part of diabetes treatment as well.

Monitoring blood sugar

If you’ve just received a diagnosis of diabetes, monitoring your blood sugar may seem like an overwhelming task. But once you learn to measure your blood sugar and understand how important it is, you’ll feel more comfortable with the procedure and more in control of your disease.

Oral Hypoglycemics

Oral hypoglycemic agents have been used in the treatment of NIDDM in humans for over 30 years. It is only in recent years however that these products have been seriously evaluated as an alternative to insulin therapy in animals. The medical literature provides an extensive amount of information on a variety of agents used in people while research in this field in veterinary medicine is still limited mainly to sulfonylureas (e.g., glipizide).