Diabetes
is a condition in which insufficient insulin, or none at all,
is produced by the pancreas. This results in the body's failure
to utilise sugar, its main source of energy. The sugar, absorbed
into the bloodstream from food in the gut, remains unchanged
and is passed through the kidneys and out of the body in the
urine. People with diabetes invariably have sugar in their urine.
Not all people who have sugar in their urine have diabetes.
Diabetes is diagnosed by the abnormally high level of sugar
in the blood. Because the sugar is not providing energy and
because of the loss of fluid that accompanies the loss of sugar
from the body, the diabetic patient usually suffers from thirst,
passes large amounts of urine, loses weight and has little energy.
In its attempts to obtain energy the body breaks down fat. This
leads to an accumulation of chemicals in the body, ketones,
which not only change the acidity of the blood, but, in the
untreated diabetic, can also lead to eventual coma and death.
This kind of coma is called a "diabetic coma", or "hyperglycaemic coma" - hyperglycaemic means "too much sugar". Diabetes can come on at any age, there is family tendency and, sometimes, it is believed stress, mental or physical, can act as a trigger. The younger age the diabetes appears, the more severe the condition tends to be. The diabetes that starts before middle age, Type I Diabetes, is almost always associated with a complete absence of insulin produced by the body, and it is essential that insulin be given, on a daily basis, by injection i.e. Insulin Dependent Diabetes. In patients in whom diabetes develops in middle-age or older, there is often inadequate, rather than a total absence of, body insulin and the condition is usually treatable by medications given by mouth. This is called Type II diabetes or Non-Insulin dependent Diabetes. In both types strict control of diet, particularly refined carbohydrates, is essential. If the medication used to lower the blood sugar is in too high a dose, or if the intake of food is insufficient, the blood sugar can fall to a dangerously low level and the person can go into another type of coma, which again, can be fatal. This is known as a hypoglycaemic coma (hypoglycaemic means "too little sugar"), or, because insulin is almost always the medication involved "an insulin coma". Known to diabetics as " a hypo" the onset of such a coma can be very rapid and give little warning. Diabetes is associated with a large number of other illnesses, notably diseases of the heart, blood vessels, nervous system, kidneys and eyes. The better controlled the diabetes the less damage may be done to these other organs.
Many diabetics, of even the most serious variety, live active, and energetic lives, some, for example, playing high level professional sport. Diabetics must be supervised by expert medical care for both treatment and management and must stick by the strict instructions they will be given with regard to diet and medication. Two particular risk factors for diabetics, even more so than they are for the general population, are smoking and raised blood pressure. Diabetics need to monitor their blood sugar levels on a daily basis and have regular medical check-ups for things such as blood pressure and eye examination. Eye conditions that threaten blindness can develop without the patient knowing. Diabetics must be under conventional medical care. |
