Diabetes : Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Diabetes Awareness

Liver should release the glucose into the blood and it is taken up by the cells throughout the body where it has to be oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. Insulin enables the glucose to pass through the outer membrane of the cell. If there is no insulin, glucose is not taken up by the cells and it gets accumulated in the blood.

Primary Effects of Diabetes:

• Excess of glucose in blood
• Overflow of glucose into urine
• Increased volume of urine to carry glucose
• Severe thirst due to excess urination

Secondary Effects of Diabetes:

As glucose is not burnt, fat is burnt and the patient loses weight. Combustion of fat can be completed and it generates carbon dioxide and water as end products in the presence of reagents which are generated during the combustion of glucose. As glucose is not being burnt, the fat combustion stops at the middle and produces intermediate products like ketone bodies.

If they get accumulated they are poisonous and becomes acidic, called as ketoacidosis. This leads to coma and finally to death if insulin is not given immediately. Protein is also consumed as fuel and leads to the weakening of muscle and other tissues. Diabetes also leads to the degeneration of small blood vessels of eyes and kidneys. Eyes and kidneys are prone to the effect and if diabetes is not controlled, it causes defective vision or even blindness and form of bright’s disease of the kidneys (A disease of kidney of toxic origin, which affects the glomeruli, tubules, intestinal tissue). The nerves of limbs are effected by diabetic neuritis (neuropathy), with tingling, numbness and other troubles. This may be due to the interference with their blood supply. The diabetic patients are also susceptible to many diseases of large arteries, fatty degeneration of the arterial wall and other complications like angina. Another common complication is the bacterial infection, a crop of boils is always seen.

Symptoms of Diabetes:

• Severe thirst
• Excessive urination
• Loss of body weight even with normal diet
• Glucose in urine
• Kidney dysfunctions
• Degeneration of small blood vessels of the eyes

Causes of Diabetes:

• Over weight
• Sedentary life
• Eating of sweets
• Over eating
• Rich food
• Hereditary
• Lack of exercise and physical activities

Treatment of Diabetes:

Banting and Best first isolated the fairly pure insulin and solved the problem of diabetes treatment. Insulin is not a cure as the person requires daily injections for the rest of his life. There is no permanent cure for diabetes. After the insulin, many synthetic oral hypoglycemics have been prepared like phenformin, tolbutamine etc. They give temporary effects and also have side effects. As synthetic drugs have side effects, palnts have been tried and found to be useful. They are free from side effects and also cheap in controlling the diabetes. The treatment that should be followed:

• To avoid sugar, fats and starchy food materials
• The food habits should be regulated after the examination of the urine
• The normal blood sugar level is 80-120mg/100cc of blood
• If a person is over weight, weight should be reduced gradually
• Anti diabetic drugs should be used regularly

Tips for dealing with Diabetes:

• A long morning walk is essential
• Injuries should be avoided as healing is very slow in diabetics
• Wholesome granular food items should be taken like chana, jau, pulses etc
• Day sleep should be avoided or restricted
• Eat light foods and in shifts