Types of Diabetes and Their Treatments

 Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is classed as a metabolism disorder. Metabolism refers to the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth. Most of what we eat is broken down into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar in the blood - it is the principal source of fuel for our bodies.

When our food is digested, the glucose makes its way into our bloodstream. Our cells use the glucose for energy and growth. However, glucose cannot enter our cells without insulin being present - insulin makes it possible for our cells to take in the glucose.

 Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. After eating, the pancreas automatically releases an adequate quantity of insulin to move the glucose present in our blood into the cells, as soon as glucose enters the cells blood-glucose levels drop.

A person with diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia). This is because the body either does not produce enough insulin, produces no insulin, or has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin the pancreas produces. This results in too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body in urine. So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements - You may like to read, Diets That Can Help Curb Diabetes.

Facts About Diabetes

• Diabetes is a chronic condition associated with abnormally high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. 
• Insulin produced by the pancreas lowers blood glucose.
• Absence or insufficient production of insulin causes diabetes.
• Symptoms of diabetes include increased urine output, thirst, hunger, and fatigue.
• Diabetes is diagnosed by blood sugar (glucose) testing.
• The major complications of diabetes are both acute and chronic.

Acute complications: dangerously elevated blood sugar (hyperglycemia), abnormally low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) due to diabetes medications may occur.
Chronic complications: disease of the blood vessels (both small and large) which can damage the feet, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart may occur - You may also read, Six Foods For Better Heart Health.

 Types of Diabetes
 Type 1 Diabetes - The body does not produce insulin. Some people may refer to this type as insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes, or early-onset diabetes. People usually develop type 1 diabetes before their 40th year, often in early adulthood or teenage years.
Type 2 Diabetes - The body does not produce enough insulin for proper function, or the cells in the body do not react to insulin - insulin resistance.
Gestational Diabetes - This type affects females during pregnancy. Some women have very high levels of glucose in their blood, and their bodies are unable to produce enough insulin to transport all of the glucose into their cells, resulting in progressively rising levels of glucose.

Diabetes treatment depends on the type and severity of the diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin, exercise, and a diabetic diet.
Type 2 diabetes is first treated with weight reduction, a diabetic diet, and exercise.
Gestational Diabetes - Diagnosis of gestational diabetes is made during pregnancy. The majority of gestational diabetes patients can control their diabetes with exercise and diet - You may read, 7 Healthy Eating Tips.

When these measures fail to control the elevated blood sugars, oral medications are used. If oral medications are still insufficient, insulin medications and other injectable medications are considered.

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Prevention and Treatment of Hepatitis.

It has been explained in the previous post - the causes of hepatitis, the types, the symptoms as well as the effects on the body. For more on these, click here!

PREVENTION OF HEPATITIS.
Viral hepatitis is caused by viruses that infect the liver. Each of these viruses cause a different type of disease, but there are some basic strategies that you can follow to protect yourself from most viral hepatitis infections. While we can't protect ourselves from everything, many types of hepatitis are preventable. Vaccines are very effective for preventing infection from hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Hepatitis B vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect yourself against hepatitis B infection. Since hepatitis B infection can lead to liver failure and liver cancer, protecting yourself from infection is important.

Hepatitis A and hepatitis E spread from person to person along the fecal-oral route. This means that feces contaminated with HAV or HEV from an infected person are somehow ingested by another person. This sounds gross and bizarre, but it happens in surprising ways.

The best way to prevent hepatitis C infection is to avoid contact with the blood of infected people. It's intuitive to think that a mosquito can spread blood-borne viruses, like hepatitis, when they bite someone infected and then move on to someone else. However, this doesn't happen because the biology of how they bite prevents it. Fortunately for everyone, viral hepatitis isn't spread from mosquitoes.

TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS.
There is no single medicine for treatment of hepatitis. Treatment is specific to its cause, which means that your physician will choose the best therapy for you based on your diagnosis. In the case of viral hepatitis, some viruses do respond to antiviral treatment. In certain acute cases, no drug is needed. However, getting the proper treatment is important because the faster your hepatitis is under control, the better your liver will be.

These are some of the most common forms of treatment for hepatitis.
* Rest: Some types of hepatitis, such as acute viral forms like hepatitis A and sometimes hepatitis B are self-limited diseases which means that your body's immune system will eventually be able to destroy the viruses that caused the disease. Medicine is rarely necessary to treat self-limited types of hepatitis, except for supportive therapies like controlling nausea or aches and pains. However, many people rest and give their bodies the necessary time to fight the illness. Self-limited diseases usually will not progress to chronic problems, so after a few weeks, you will feel better and be able to go back to normal activities.
* Antiviral Drugs: Doctors often combine different antiviral drugs to better combat the virus.
* Liver Transplantation: Sometimes hepatitis has developed into such a serious disease that a liver transplant is the only treatment left. This is a complex surgical procedure that involves replacing a failing liver with a donor liver. But because there are many risks involved, it is a treatment of last resort.

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Hepatitis

Hepatitis is caused by several viruses, the most common of which are named hepatitis A, B, and C. The 3 hepatitis viruses caused most liver damage. However, hepatitis can also be caused by alcohol and some other toxins and infections, as well as from our own auto-immune process - in which the body attacks itself. Other types of hepatitis are hepatitis D, E and X.

When an individual first develop hepatitis, it is called acute hepatitis. Hepatitis can also become a long-term disease known as chronic hepatitis. It gradually destroys the liver. Chronic hepatitis also appears to increase the risk of liver cancer.

The liver performs a wide range of functions, including:
* Detoxification (filters harmful substances form the blood, such as alcohol)
* Storage of vitamins A, D, K and B12 (also stores minerals)
* Syntheses of protein (makes certain amino acids)
* Production of biochemicals needed for digestion, such as bile
* Maintenance of proper levels of glucose in the blood
* Production of body's cholesterol (cholesterol is vital for our health)
* Storage of glycogen after conversion from glucose to glycogen
* Decomposition of red blood cells
* Syntheses of plasma protein
* Production of hormones
* Production of urea (the main substance of urine)

SYMPTOMS OF HEPATITIS
Though some people with the disease may not have any of these problems, but there are four common symptoms frequently seen with hepatitis.
* Jaundice
* Loss of Appetite
* Muscle and Joint Aches
* Fatigue

Hepatitis is categorized into 'acute' and 'chronic' phases.The initial phase of hepatitis is called the acute phase. The symptoms include: Diarrhea, Fatigue, Loss of appetite, Mild fever, Muscle or joint aches, Nausea, Slight abdominal pain, Vomiting and Weight loss.

As the patient gets worse, these symptoms may follow: Circulation problems, Dark urine, Dizziness, Drowsiness, Enlarged spleen, Headache, Hives, Itchy skin, Light colored feces (the feces may contain pus), Yellow skin, tongue and whites of eyes.

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