Finding Your Way Around The Two Commonest Types Of Diabetes
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The starting point when looking at diabetes is to understand that it is a chronic disease which is distinguished by a distortion to the metabolism and raised blood sugar levels which lead to reduced levels of insulin. The symptoms of diabetes can mask themselves to look like many other disorders and the condition can thus go undiagnosed for many years. Diabetic screenings are extremely important as early diagnosis and prompt treatment can greatly improve the quality of life for people who are suffering from this disease.
There are two key forms of diabetes which those people who are unfamiliar with the disease frequently find it hard to separate and these are type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes results from the destruction of pancreatic beta cells which itself is the result of an auto-immune attack. It cannot be prevented and accounts for about ten percent of all cases of diabetes (or more accurately diabetes mellitus) in Europe and North America. This form of diabetes can be seen in both children and adults and is often called juvenile diabetes.
It is possible to treat type 1 diabetes very successfully by monitoring blood glucose levels and adding insulin to the body. Both forms of diabetes can require supplementary insulin and diabetic coma or death can follow if there is a rapid drop in insulin.
Aside from administering insulin, the best form of management for type 1 diabetes is a program of diet and exercise. Individuals with this condition have to know their glucose level and be sure that insulin is topped up as necessary by injection or use of an insulin pump.
Type 2 diabetes is different from the type 1 form of this disease because it occurs as a result of a resistance to insulin or a sensitivity to insulin together with the body’s decreased insulin production. This type of diabetes is common in people who suffer from obesity, are advanced in age, have a family history of the condition and who do not exercise.
Type 1 diabetics must take medication because their bodies have lost their ability to make insulin. But, type 2 diabetics have various different options when it comes to keeping their condition under control. In some cases exercise and diet might well be enough to control type 2 diabetes but insulin and oral medication may also be part of a treatment plan.
There are various different treatment plans available but the most critical element of the treatment equation is the patient. This is a chronic disease but that does not mean that it has to be a lost cause and there are a lot of ways to keep your body healthy when you are suffering from diabetes. In fact, the diabetic is the key player when it comes to fighting the side effects of this unfortunately all too common condition.
If you have questions about diabetes then there is no better place to visit than diabetes-treatment-and-cure.com where you will find a wealth of answers to questions about diabetes
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