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Diabetes is a Diabetes Diabetes Diabetes is a circumstance in which a break down occurs in the metabolism of the food into power for the human body. It is a serious disorder that effects millions and millions of people each year. The chief feature of diabetes is the lack of insulin. Diabetes is one of the oldest diseases known to this date. Since the Ancient days, scientist have made many medical discovers that helps treat diabetes. (Dolger and Seeman 14). There are two forms of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2.
A person with Type I diabetes depends on insulin, therefore, they must acquire shots of insulin every day from a syringe. This type of diabetes typically affects a person before they turn thirty. There pancreas does not produce the insulin that is required to turn sugar into energy. A person with Type II diabetes does not dependent on insulin shots. They can produce insulin, but not fast enough to maintain high intakes of foods with high sugar counts.
The main treatments for this type of diabetes is a firmly restricted diet and exercise. This type of diabetes generally occurs in seriously overweight adults over the age of thirty. There is not a cure for diabetes. Fortunately, several treatments for the disease have been discovered. The most significant development in the treatment for diabetes was the discovery of insulin.
Insulin was discovered in 1921 by Sir Frederick Banting, Charles H. Best, and John James Rickard Macleod (Encyclopedia Britannica). Insulin is a hormone normally produced in the organ of the body called the pancreas (Web MD). Inside of the pancreas are cells called the islets of Langerhans (Dolger and Seeman 16). Inside of the islets of Langerhans are specialized cells called beta cells. These cells produce the bodys insulin.
The function of insulin is necessary for the body to metabolize sugar (Aloia et al 16). Glucose is the sugar that the body uses. There are many different types of sugars. For example, Sucrose is the sugar of which honey is made and Fructose is a sugar found in fruits.
Our bodies make the glucose that we need for energy and metabolize into glucose the certain foods that we eat. Foods that are high in carbohydrates and starches are the primary sources for glucose. Typical carbohydrates and starches are potatoes, breads, and pasta (Aloia 16 - 17). The energy used by each cell of our body comes from oxidizing, or burning, glucose. As the cells consume glucose, the blood sugar level drops. We eat food, carbohydrates and starches that are digested and metabolized into glucose and the glucose then enters the blood stream.
The pancreas senses the increase of blood sugar and it starts producing insulin. Glucose enters the cell with the help of insulin. The function of insulin is to attach itself to a glucose molecule so that the glucose can fill the cell membrane. Another major advancement in the treatment of diabetes is the ability to manufacture insulin. All artificial human insulin is made from either beef or pork pancreas (Dolger and Seeman 88). It consists of solution or suspensions of insulin proteins in water (Danowski 70).
In order to function normally, every human being needs to maintain a certain level of sugar in their blood. The normal blood sugar range is between 80 to 120 mg of glucose per 100 ml of blood. If this level of sugar rises too high, they cannot function normally (Dolger and Seeman 97). A Type I diabetic need artificial insulin in order to survive. The insulin-dependent diabetics receive life-supporting insulin though a syringe injection. The first person to receive an insulin injection was Joe Gilchrist on February 11, 1922 (Dolger and Seeman 74).
Up until then, anyone who was diagnosed with Type I diabetes was usually given only a short time to live. With the discovery of artificially produced insulin combined with the use of hypodermic needles, the Type I diabetics were given a longer life. The injections, even though they are essential to maintaining ones health, nevertheless, are painful and unpleasant. Pills and capsules that can be taken orally are out of the question.
Insulin is a protein substance, which can not be swallowed and absorbed into the bodys system with out being destroyed by the digestive juices. Nasal sprays can not reliably deliver the appropriate dosage of insulin. The tough nature of our skin makes body patches an effective way to deliver the protein based hormone (Dolger and Seeman 104). People with Type I diabetes are required to take insulin injections at the same time every day. This dictates the need to have a fixed schedule of eating meals.
No meals should ever be postponed or skipped. A person must take the insulin shot about half -hour before eating so that the insulin can be absorbed into the bloodstream (Aloia et al 104). The timing of the injection correlates to the time it takes the body to digest the meal. The materials needed for the injection is a hypodermic syringe and a bottle of insulin. A person must always be sure that the materials are sterilized.
The insulin shot can be taken in many places of the body. Some places are the front or side of thigh, upper part of the arm, upper area of buttock, or the abdomen (Aloia et al 101). These sites of injection must be changed to prevent skin problems. If a person gives the injection at the same site every time they get a lump known as hypertrophy. If this develops the insulin will not absorbed through that site (Aloia et al 103).
A recently developed treatment for diabetes is the use of the insulin pump. The insulin pump is a machine that repeatedly pumps insulin into the body. It is about the size of a pager and is worn on the outside of the body. The pump consists of a syringe connected to a servomotor that applies constant pressure to the plunger. This dispenses an accurate amount of insulin. A microprocessor monitors the flow of insulin.
The pump can be programmed to deliver various amounts of insulin on a twenty-four hour basis. The syringe has a long tube with a needle on one end of it that attaches into the skin. The needle site has to be changed every three days. There are many advantages to having the pump. The major advantage is that the diabetic doesnt have to give him or herself four injections every day. The pump also gives a person the flexibility of eating whenever they want.
Plus, a person can eat some foods outside of the proper diet because the pump can be easily programmed to accept the deviation (Insulin Pumpers U K). Diet and exercise are two things a diabetic must do. The diet should consist of moderate amounts of carbohydrates, sugars, starches, and fats (Danowski 20). A persons body still needs insulin even when a person doesnt eat; because carbohydrates are stored in the bodys tissues. Also, certain cells of the liver continue to produce glucose from the bodys protein and other materials. Any excess sugars from the diet must be taken into account.
Extra ingested sugars means more insulin is required. If the sugar intake and insulin are not in balance, the blood sugar level goes awry (Danowski 46). Exercise is important because it increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the muscles. Also it lowers blood glucose levels and it enhances the effectiveness of insulin (Aloia et al 143). How to cure and prevent diabetes or any other disease involves knowing the cause. The doctors today still debate the cause of diabetes. (Long) Some believe diabetes is a genetic malady.
Others think it is a viral infection. Whatever is the cause, the insulin producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed and not replaced. (Long) Anybody can get diabetes. It does matter of a persons age, race, or sex. It can appear gradually or suddenly (Dolger and Seeman 45).
Diabetes is a life long daily procedure. People with diabetes can live a normal and healthy life. But to do so requires daily attention to their diet and their blood sugar level. The diabetics should learn how to take care of themselves as soon as possible (Dolger and Seeman 57).
People who have diabetes are more likely to have other problems than people without diabetes. They are twice as prone to heart disease and stokes. Five time as prone to develop arterial disease of the limbs. Diabetes is characterized by accelerated vascular disease.
Approximating 75 % of death among diabetic are due to cardiovascular disease (Aloia et al 264). The early symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and blurred vision (Wed MD). Other symptoms of diabetes as determined by clinical test are sugar and ketones in the urine (Aloia et al 41). Except for some extremely rare diseases, sugar in the urine denotes the presence of diabetes. Ketones are chemical byproducts of fats being burned by the body for energy.
Normally the body will convert the fat to a sugar; then use insulin to metabolize the sugar into energy. The presence of ketones denotes that the body is using a back-up system to produce energy it needs (Aloia et al 66). The most recognizable side affect of diabetes is insulin shock. Insulin shock is when a persons blood sugar drops so low that the body functions are adversely affected (Dolger and Seeman 120). Insulin shock is very dangerous and shouldnt be taken lightly. It is easily to correct by giving the person sugar.
If the person is conscious the sugar can be in the form of candy or juice (Dolger and Seeman 129). If the person is unconscious a glucose shot must be given directly into a persons vein (Danowski 117). If insulin shock is not treated it can lead to brain injury and permanent damage (Danowski 119). The symptoms leading up to insulin shocks are: mild hunger, sweating, dizziness, noticeable mood swings, tingling of the skin, and pale skin (Dolger and Seeman 124) Another repercussion of diabetes is the diabetic coma. This is a hazard faced by all diabetics who allow the disease to get out of control. It happened to people who are insulin-deficit.
The coma is slow to develop. It may take up to twenty-four hours or more to manifest itself (Dolger and Seeman 120). Coma develops from an abnormal rise in blood sugar due to not enough insulin activity. The symptoms of diabetic coma are: constant thirst, flushed, dry skin, weakness, fatigue, drowsiness, deep breathing vomiting and the most important unconsciousness (Dolger and Seeman 127). People with diabetes can lead normal and healthy lives.
Diabetics must learn to live with the disease. They must control it or face serious side affects immediately or as they grow older. They must monitor their blood sugar daily and adjust their sugar and insulin intake accordingly (Danowski 21). All people with diabetes should wear a medical alert band to state they have diabetes (Danowski 119). Some day, we will find a cure for diabetes. But untill then, all we can do is treat the symptoms on a daily basis.
Work Cities Alois, John, Patricia Donohue-Porter, and Laurie Schussed. Diabetes: The Comprehensive Self-Management Handbook. New York: Doubleday, 1984. Danowski, T.
S. Diabetes as a Way of Life. New York: Coward, McCann &# 038; Geoghegan, 1978. Dolger, Henry and Bernard Seeman.
How to Live with Diabetes. New York: Norton, 1977. (Diabetes Mellitus) Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago: Helen Hemingway Benton Publisher, 1978. Insulin Pumpers UK. November 21, 1999. What is an Insulin Pump September 27, 2000.
web Wed MD Yahoo Heath September 26, 2000. web ata/Diabetes Mellitus / html .
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Research essay sample on Blood Sugar Level Type I Diabetes
