Type 1 – Diabetes
Uploaded by mumsa1 on Mar 22, 2012
Type 1 - Diabetes occurs when there is too much glucose in the blood.
In this article:
What is Type 1 - Diabetes?
Diagnosis
Advice & Support
Symptoms
Treatment
Causes
How Chemist Online can help
What is Type 1 - Diabetes?
Diabetes can be categorised into 2 types:
Type 1 – Diabetes: Although it is much less common than Type 2 – Diabetes, Type 1 – Diabetes still affects over 2 million people in the UK alone.
We get glucose (sugar) from food. It gives us energy and helps our cells to function properly. Type 1 – Diabetes develops when there is an excessive amount of glucose in the blood (and your body stops making a pancreatic generated hormone called insulin which keeps your blood glucose levels under control). Too much glucose can damage your blood cells over time, make you feel ill, and lead to extremely serious medical problems.
Type 1 – Diabetes generally occurs in children of young adults.
Type 2 – Diabetes: Type 2 – Diabetes is different because it occurs in people over 40 years of age and develops gradually over time. Cells resist (or reject) the sufficient amounts of insulin the pancreas creates, and so therefore fail to be stimulated by it. This has knock-on effect which causes the insulin generating cells in the pancreas to become exhausted and stop functioning properly.
This article will focus upon Type 1 – Diabetes and seek to explain the impact it has on people’s lives.
Symptoms
Symptoms of Type 1 - Diabetes include:
A persistent, raging thirst
A need to pass urine frequently
Fatigue
Weight loss
Muscle wasting
Problems with vision (images can appear blurred)
Constipation
Skin infections
Itchiness and irritation around the penis or vagina
Regular bouts of thrush
Causes
As we have seen, Type 1 – Diabetes develops when your body stops producing sufficient amounts of insulin to keep your blood glucose levels under control. A lack of insulin means that the glucose is not dispersed naturally and evenly to into your cells through your bloodstream.
It is not known why the body fails to produce enough insulin in some people but does in others, although one theory suggests that is may be due to a problem with the immune system – possibly and autoimmune reaction.
Other suggested causes of Type 1 - Diabetes include:
Viral or bacterial infection
Exposure to cow’s milk at a very young age (i.e. during infancy)
Environmental problems, such as exposure to dangerous chemical toxins in some foods
Also, some people may have a genetic predisposition to developing Type 1 –...