Diabetes mellitus is a progressive and disabled disease, the prevalence of which seriously alarms doctors around the world.
This pathology can be attributed to the so -called diseases of civilization, because its main reason lies in the wrong lifestyle that modern people adhere to.
Timely diagnosis of diabetes gives the patient a chance to delay the onset of severe complications. But it is not always possible to recognize the first signs of diabetes. The fault of this is the lack of elementary knowledge about this disease and the low level of patient's revealing for medical help.
Attention! Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and does not yet exist.
What is diabetes mellitus?
Diabetes mellitus is a group of chronic endocrine diseases, the main manifestations of which are the absolute or relative insulin deficiency in the body and increasing blood glucose. As a result of the disease, all metabolism is disturbed: protein, lipid, carbohydrate, mineral metabolism. A violation of the acid-base balance is also observed.
According to statistical data, from 1 to 8% of people suffer from diabetes, but scientists suggest that the true number of patients are much larger. And this figure increases every year. The number of children's diseased diabetes is also growing.
Attention! Insulin is the only hormone that reduces the level of glucose in the blood and promotes its absorption with cells.
Insulin is produced in the pancreatic tissue by its beta cells. Violation of the formation of this hormone as a result of their damage or violation of its absorption by peripheral cells leads to the fact that diabetes begins.
Classification of diabetes
Several types of diabetes are known:
- Type the first previously called insulin -dependent. With it, the primary insulin hormone failure develops, leading to hyperglycemia. Most often, the cause of this pathology is autoimmune damage to the pancreas.
- The second type, previously called insulin -dependent, but this definition is not accurate, since with the progression of this type, replacement insulin therapy may be required. In this type of disease, the level of insulin is first remained normal or even exceeds the norm. However, the cells of the body, first of all, adipocytes (fat cells), become insensitive to it, which leads to an increase in glucose levels in the blood.
Attention! Factors provoking the onset of the disease are: severe stress, excessive physical activity, hormonal imbalance, transmitted diseases and other significant changes in the body.
Also distinguish:
- Diabetes gestational sugar (in pregnant women).
- Diabetes as a manifestation of genetic or endocrine pathology. In this case, diabetes itself acts as a symptom of a disease.
Three degrees of severity of the course of the disease are distinguished:
- light;
- average;
- heavy.
The initial signs of type I diabetes mellitus
This type of disease more often affects young people and is considered genetically determined. It can manifest itself already in early childhood.
The first signs of type I diabetes are considered:
- There is a lot to increase appetite, there is a lot of need, but at the same time a person does not gain weight or lose weight without special physical exertion and diets. This is due to energy failure in cells, the cause of which is reduced absorption of glucose.
- Incomination of night urination and an increase in daily diuresis, respectively, enhanced fluid consumption. Polyuria occurs with an increase in osmotic urine pressure due to increased filtration of glucose into urine.
- The sudden appearance of severe thirst, as a result of which a person drinks up to 5 liters of liquid per day. Polydipsy has several development mechanisms. The first is to replenish the water deficit due to polyuria, and the second is realized with irritation of osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus.
- The appearance of acetonemia, the signs of which is the smell of acetone from the mouth, urine acquires the smell of rotten apples. Acetonemia occurs when switching the path of energy formation from carbohydrate to fat under conditions of glucose deficiency in the cell. At the same time, ketone bodies are formed, which toxicly affect the body. Symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting are associated with their influence.
- With the progression of a ketoacidotic state, the first symptom of the beginning disease is a diabetic coma.
- An increase in general weakness and increased fatigue due to impaired metabolism, energy starvation of body cells and the accumulation of toxic metabolism.
- Violation of vision in the form of fuzziness and vague of objects, redness of conjunctiva and carving in the eyes.
- Itching of the skin, the formation of small erosion on the skin and mucous membranes, which do not heal for a long time.
- Excessive hair loss.
The first type of diabetes mellitus is characterized in that it manifests sharply, suddenly and often only acute symptoms in the form of severe ketoacidosis up to a coma forces to recare this diagnosis.
The initial symptoms of type II diabetes
The second type of diabetes develops in people of more mature age, having overweight or obesity. Their mechanism for the development of pathology lies in the fact that fat cells are overwhelmed with fat and increase in size. As a result of this, the quantity and quality of the receptors to insulin changes, which leads to insensitivity or resistance to the hormone. In such conditions, glucose is not absorbed.
In the early stages of diabetes of the second type, a compensatory increase in the synthesis of insulin insulin arises by the pancreas, but as the disease progressed, this reserve is exhausted and the absolute insulin -adulinary system develops.
A feature of this disease is that its symptoms at the initial stage of diabetes can not notice a person for a long time. Most people explain the deterioration of their health by age -related changes, overwork, and not beginning with diabetes. The belated appeal regarding the disease is also explained by the slower progression and erased symptoms than with type I.
Reference! Often type II diabetes is diagnosed by accident when applying for another pathology or on a preventive examination.
Among the first symptoms of diabetes, the most common are the following:
- Polydipsy is manifested by increased drinking regime up to 4-5 liters per day. Such severe thirst is more often in patients of mature age. In old age, insensitivity to thirst is observed.
- Polyuria, especially frequent urge to the act of urination is observed at night.
- Improving body weight.
- Increased appetite especially for sweet foods.
- Growing weakness, drowsiness, fatigue.
- Skin itching, especially in the perineum and genitals.
- Paresthesia and numbness in the lower extremities and palms due to the development of diabetic neuropathy.
- Pain and fatigue in the legs when walking, a rare hairline, a cooling of the extremities due to the defeat of the vessels.
- Furunkulosis, candidiasis of the skin and mucous membranes, infected long -term non -healing cracks, wounds, scratches. Other leather symptoms of the disease are: diabetic dermatopathy, bubbles, xanthomes, lipoid necrobiosis, neurodermatitis. All this is a consequence of the impaired regeneration of the skin and reduced immune reactivity.
- Periodontal disease and recurrent stomatitis.
- Vision deterioration as a result of the toxic effects of high concentrations of glucose in the blood (retinopathy, cataract). As a rule, with the second type of diabetes, eye damage occurs much later than at the first.
- Frequent relapses of urinary tract infections, in particular, pyelonephritis, as a result of hyperglycemia and glucosuria.
Signs of the onset of diabetes in children
Quite often, type I diabetes mellitus is diagnosed during the development of acute complications in a small patient - diabetic ketoacidosis or ketoacidotic coma. Parents should pay attention if their child has frequent episodes of ketosis or the so -called cyclic vomiting syndrome. This condition develops in many constitutionally prone to acetonymic syndrome of children. It is aggravated by acute respiratory viral infections, infectious diseases and can lead to dehydration due to vomiting. But this syndrome passes by itself as the child grows up.
If ketosis occurs under the age of a year or lasts longer than 7–9 years, the endocrinologist should be examined. However, experts advise under any manifestation of acetonymia to pass a blood test for glucose.
The very first signs of pathology in children are:
- Polyuria;
- polydipsy;
- Sharp weight loss.
If these symptoms of diabetes could not be recognized, a child can develop ketoacidosis with such characteristic symptoms:
- abdominal pain;
- vomiting, nausea;
- dry skin;
- frequent breathing;
- dizziness;
- the smell of acetone in exhaled air, in the urine, vomit;
- lethargy, drowsiness;
- Loss of consciousness.
Important! If the symptoms of ketoacidosis appear, you need to urgently seek emergency medical help!
The beginning of diabetes sugar in men
In the genital sphere of men with this disease, there are also changes due to impaired innervation (neuropathy) and blood supply to the reproductive organs. Such symptoms are characteristic:
- reduced libido;
- impaired unstable erection;
- Infertility due to a decrease in mobility and the number of viable forms of sperm.
It also often has itching in the genitals due to the irritating effect of the sweat secret with a high concentration of glucose.
Disorders for diabetes in women
A variety of signs of this disease are observed with damage to the reproductive organs of a woman:
- decrease in sexual interest;
- irregular menstruation;
- dryness and itching of the mucous membrane of the genital organs, candidiasis of the vagina;
- non -infinition of pregnancy;
- infertility.
In pregnant women, a special type of diabetes sometimes occurs - gestational. Therefore, when observing a pregnant woman, the doctor must direct the woman in time for an oral tolerance test to glucose and regularly monitor the general urine analysis to detect glucosuria.
What to do when identifying diabetes symptoms?
It is best to contact an endocrinologist who will tell you what examinations you need to undergo to confirm the diagnosis. Laboratory examinations include:
- Blood test for the level of glucose on an empty stomach:
- oral test tolerance for glucose to detect pre -antiabetes;
- blood test for glycosylated hemoglobin;
- urine analysis for glucosuria;
- Analysis of urine for acetone.
Other laboratory and instrumental methods are used to identify complications of the disease.
Thus, it is necessary to responsibly relate to a state of health in order to identify the first signs of diabetes in time.