Diabetes and Related Illnesses

Introduction
Diabetes is a medical condition that occurs when the body produces either very less to nearly no insulin or when the body is not responsive to insulin produced by the body. The pancreas is responsible for the manufacture of insulin, which helps store the food’s sugar and fat.

There are mainly two types of chronic diabetes,

• Type 1 Diabetes: is usually found in children or adolescents
• Type 2 Diabetes: can develop at any age and is typically found in patients above the age of 40.

The chronic diabetes medical conditions are usually irreversible or cannot be treated. However, there are some types of diabetes that are reversible, this includes,

• Prediabetes: is the condition when the diabetes level is higher than the normal level but it might not be high enough to be termed as diabetes.
• Gestational: is the medical condition that is usually seen in pregnant mothers and is usually not seen after the delivery of the baby.

Symptoms
The patient suffering from both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes usually experience the following symptoms:

Causes
Type 1 Diabetes:
The reasons for the cause of Type 1 diabetes cannot be confirmed exactly. However, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas can be attacked by the body’s immune system that will reduce the production of insulin and in turn increase the levels of glucose in the blood. This could be due to the following reasons:

• Family History
• Diseases or infections of the Pancreas

Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes:
In these medical conditions, the patient’s body develops resistance to the insulin produced by the body. This will not allow the body to use the insulin it produces to break down the glucose in the blood. This can be due to:

Age	Insulin Resistance	Family History
Obesity	Non-Active Lifestyle	Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Gestational Diabetes:
The main cause for this type of diabetes is the production of the hormones by the placenta that makes the cells resistant to insulin, found only during the pregnancy. The pancreas will try to counter this by producing more insulin. However, in some cases, this might not be enough and the glucose level in the blood rises.

Related Illnesses
Diabetic patients can develop some related illnesses gradually. The risk of related illnesses increases as the diabetes levels of the patient remains high for a long time. Some of these related illnesses include,

• Cardiovascular Diseases: including coronary artery disease with angina (chest pain), heart attack, stroke and narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis) are some of the diseases that arise due to an increased risk of diabetes. The mere presence of high levels of diabetes increases the chances of heart disease or stroke.
• Nerve Damage (Neuropathy): is usually caused due to the presence of excess sugar that can damage the walls of the capillaries as the nerves are nourished by these tiny blood vessels. This damage to the nerves cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain starting from the tips of the toes or fingers and spreading upwards slowly. The affected limbs can lose all sense of feeling if they are left untreated. If the nerves related to the digestive system are damaged, it can lead to vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, even nausea. It can even cause erectile dysfunction in some men.
• Kidney Damage (Nephropathy): is the condition where the glomeruli, the tiny blood vessels in the kidney, are damaged due to the presence of high diabetes level. This can affect the kidneys, which are the filtering system of the body. It can even lead to severe damage resulting in kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease that typically requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.
• Eye Damage (Retinopathy): is the medical condition where high diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the retina causing blindness, cataracts, and glaucoma.
• Foot Damage: is caused by the damage caused to the nerves of the foot by diabetes leading to foot complications. If left untreated, it can result in blisters and infections, which in turn can lead to the amputation of the affected toe, foot or leg.
  Skin Condition: like bacterial and fungal infections can be caused by high diabetes.
• Hearing Problems
• Alzheimer’s Disease: high levels of diabetes increase the risk.