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If your child is tired, sad, has suddenly lost weight, despite the fact that he has a ravenous appetite and can drink any amount of drinks, do not underestimate this. It could be type 1 diabetes. It is very dangerous if it goes undetected. In extreme cases, it can cause coma and even death. A quick diagnosis is important. It is simple and could save his life.
- Type 1 diabetes is – at this stage of medical development – an incurable disease with unknown causes, although the most common factors are environmental (e.g. air pollution) and genetic factors (autoimmune diseases in the family)
- Diabetics are doomed to supply insulin from the outside for the rest of their lives, otherwise they would be sentenced to death. Before the hormone was discovered, that is, until 1921, people with diabetes were dying, so the discoverers of insulin were awarded the Nobel Prize
- The causes of the disease remain a mystery, although the mechanism of its emergence is known. However, there are some hypotheses
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Type 1 diabetes – what is it?
Type 1 diabetes – one type of this condition – is also called juvenile, formerly insulin dependent (IDDM). It usually appears before the age of 35, most often between the ages of 12-14. Currently, however, it affects younger and younger children, and it is more and more common in newborns.
In Poland, it is estimated that the number of people dependent on insulin is 180 thousand. up to 200 thousand people. In antiquity it was called “diabetes mellitus”. The first word means “flowing”, the second “sweet as honey”. The terms refer to urine, which has a sweetish taste and odor due to the glucose secreted in it by the body. In the past, diabetes was detected just by tasting urine. It is an incurable disease and it can even lead to death if it is undiagnosed.
– Failure to start insulin treatment may lead to death in a very short time. This was the case until 1921, when insulin was discovered and started to be used in therapy. Thanks to this, patients with type 1 diabetes now have a chance to survive and live to a ripe old age – says in an interview with Medonet the national diabetes consultant prof. dr hab. n. med. Krzysztof Strojek.
People suffering from type 1 diabetes are doomed to supply insulin from the outside through an insulin pump or a pen for the rest of their lives.. It is an autoimmune disease, or autoimmune disease, because the body’s own body begins to fight the β cells of the pancreas, which are responsible for the production of the hormone – insulin. They are often destroyed very quickly, and the process is irreversible.
Insulin provides our body with the energy necessary for life – glucose. This is the key that opens the door to this simple sugar to almost all cells in our body. For example, insulin does not need the brain for glucose to be delivered to it. Therefore, in the state of hypoglycaemia (hyperglycaemia), when there is an excess of this monosaccharide in the body, diabetics do not lose consciousness.
– The body is undergoing an autoimmune process, which means that it goes against its own tissues, in this case insulin-producing tissues, and destroys them. At the moment it is an incurable disease – explains prof. Outfit.
The causes of the disease are still unknown
It is supposed that the disease may be due to environmental factors, it may be genetically determined, or it may appear as a result of infection. For now, however, these are only hypotheses. The reasons are still unknown. Also, the hypothesis that being infected with the coronavirus could trigger the body’s defense mechanisms aimed at destroying the tissues responsible for insulin production was not confirmed.
– We know what the mechanism of this disease is, but we do not know what causes it. The increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes is observed after massive seasonal infections. Hence the idea that a viral infection can cause changes in the body such that immunity is directed against its own tissues. We do not know yet whether the number of cases of type 1 diabetes increases after COVID infection. We don’t have statistics. There are preliminary reports that indicate this, but here it is mainly cases of type 2 diabetes, the national diabetes consultant noted.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that it has not been proven that feeding infants with cow’s milk protein may lead to autoimmune diseases later in life.
– This concept has been ruled out on the basis of research. There have been attempts to inhibit the autoimmune process with various drugs, but also without success. Today we can say that if type 1 diabetes occurs, it is incurable and we cannot prevent it, he added.
Disease remission, or the honeymoon
In type 1 diabetes, there is one important period in treatment called the “honey moon” and medically known as the remission period.
—This is a dangerous moment, because healers prey on it, who claim that they will heal the patient, give him herbs, incense him, and indeed the disease regresses, not due to treatments, but the natural course of the disease. Then he’ll reveal himself anyway – warns prof. Outfit.
Disease symptoms and diagnosis
Clinical symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually appear suddenly and the disease becomes apparent within a few weeks. Her symptoms can be confused with food poisoning (later in the disease) or a state of depression.
The most common symptoms are: abdominal pain and increased hunger, i.e. ravenous appetite with simultaneous strong weight loss, up to several kilograms a week. This is because the body is increasingly lacking insulin, so the food supplied to the body does not end up in the cells. They are hungry for glucose. At the same time, diabetics feel overwhelmingly thirsty. They are able to drink several liters of water daily. They often have to go to the toilet (polyuria).
In addition, there is dry mouth and even bedwetting at night. They are tired. They do not have the strength to do simple everyday activities and good mood drops. They are very dimmed, they have no strength for anything. Their appearance changes. The skin becomes translucent and the eyes become dark circles. As the expert points out, all these symptoms are so disturbing and strong that the patient or his parents seek help from a doctor. And although the genesis of the disease is still a mystery, the diagnosis is very simple.
It is enough to perform a simple blood or urine glucose test. In blood, it should not exceed 100 mg / dl on an empty stomach, and up to two hours after a meal – 140 mg / dl. In turn, the acceptable level in urine (physiological) is not more than 1 mg / dl and it is not detected in laboratory tests. It will appear, however, when the blood glucose level exceeds the kidney threshold, which is over 180 mg / dL. This means that the condition is very much respected.
When was the last time you checked your sugar level? Check if you have diabetes – diagnostic test package
Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition
Ketoacidosis is the next stage of the disease. If you do not take proper treatment in time, do not deliver insulin to your body, your body becomes acidic. The paradox is that there is an excess of glucose in the bloodstream, which is excreted in the urine, because due to the lack of a key – insulin, it is not delivered to cells.
The body has to cope differently to provide the necessary fuel. Alternatively, it starts getting them by burning fat (hence the sudden weight loss). However, the side effects are ketones in the blood and acetone in the urine. There are so many of them that poisoning occurs. Then you experience abdominal pain, vomiting, sour smell from the mouth and rapid breathing (the so-called breath of a chased dog), because the body wants to get rid of this poison as soon as possible. There is ketoacidosis. This condition is life-threatening and requires hospitalization.
—The acidosis is when the body does not supply enough glucose to the cells and begins to burn fat, but the burning process is not complete and ends up producing acetone. This causes acidification, i.e. a state of immediate life-threatening – keto coma – emphasizes Prof. Outfit.
As she further cautions, very little time passes from the appearance of high blood sugar to the moment of keto coma threat. It may be several days. About one month at most. That is why you need to react immediately to any disturbing symptoms.