Type 1 Diabetes Treatments and Serious Health Issues it Can Cause if Not Treated Effectively

The consuming problem all over the world is people suffering from diabetes. Statistics show that 380 million people are having diabetes and sadly, half of them do not know they have diabetes. These results were revealed on World’s Diabetes Day in 2012 to bring awareness to the people.

It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. The most common types of diabetes are Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Around 471$ million dollars has been spent on Type 1 Diabetes Treatments so far (as it is a chronic case) according to American Diabetes Association but positive results with 100% cure are yet to be discovered.

Diabetes is a disease which is caused by high blood sugar levels in the blood. Blood Sugar or glucose is a main source of energy for the body. Having excess sugar in the blood can cause serious health complications which is why human body has an agent called insulin.

Insulin is a hormone made by pancreas whose sole purpose is to make sure that glucose reaches the cells for energy and not blood. But sometimes it is not made in the required amount or our body does not make use of it effectively. This causes the glucose to reach the bloodstream instead of cells and sugar levels spikes.

What is Type 1 Diabetes?

In this case, insulin is not produced by the pancreas. Since the insulin production is inadequate blood sugar raise uncontrollably and will result in the destruction of beta cells in the pancreas. It is also termed as Diabetes Mellitus type 1.

The body’s immune system will turn against the beta cells creating complications. As the insulin production is stopped there is control over the glucose reach in the bloodstream.

If not treated, can lead to a condition called Ketoacidosis. The body burns down its own fats if the insulin is absent and this release chemical substances into the blood. These dangerous substances accumulate and cause life-threatening conditions.

So, type 1 diabetes treatments are not be ignored to contain or eliminate the complications caused by the absence of insulin.

Type 1 diabetes can happen at any age but is usually diagnosed in children and adults. It takes up about 5% of the stake of all other diabetes cases. Incorporating type 1 diabetes diet can help in prevention.

Type 2 diabetes makes your cells unresponsive to insulin. Your body will not respond effectively with insulin and with time insulin may not even be produced. It is most commonly observed in middle-aged and old aged people but can happen at any age.

Gestational diabetes is the case developed by women in their pregnancy period. Usually, it goes away once the baby is born. But in some cases, women are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes at a later point in time in their life.

Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms

You should look at different type 1 diabetes treatments feasibility if you are having symptoms stated below

• Excessive hunger
• Mood swings
• Frequent visits to bathroom (urination)
• Fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Children start wetting their bed
• Tiredness
• Frequent Leg cramps
• Slow wound healing
• Feeling thirsty most of the time

The above signs of type 1 diabetes can occur suddenly. So, visiting the doctor as early as possible is recommended so as to avoid complications.

The above type 1 diabetes symptoms are most common cases observed and mostly ignored by lot of people in the beginning. Any disease can be cured or treated most effectively in its early stage. So, identifying the symptoms can help in choosing effective type 1 diabetes treatments.

Type 1 diabetes Causes

The destruction of beta cells which plays an important role in the creation of insulin in the pancreas is the major cause of acquiring type 1 diabetes. Body’s immune system attacks the cells as part of the autoimmune body system.

Risk factors that can be listed under type 1 diabetes causes are

Strong Family link: If your family has a history of diabetes condition there is a high percentage of chance that you can be affected. The sad part is it cannot be prevented. However, it can be subsided with effective eating plans and exercise.

Improper diet: If you are exposed to high amount of dairy products in your diet, you are at risk. There are many successful cases where patients suggest plant-based food as one of the type 1 diabetes cure. Animal-based food has some disadvantages for diabetic patients.

Genetics: Absence of certain genes can trigger type 1 diabetes. However, genetics does not tell why diabetes is developed as one may still not be having diabetes even if genes are absent.

Type 1 Diabetes Treatments

Now coming to the question of How is type 1 diabetes treated?

The core part of type 1 diabetes treatments is to maintain the correct amount of insulin so that blood sugar levels don’t raise up abnormally. Frequent checks of sugar levels are possible with new devices technology has showered upon us.

Insulin Injections

Insulin injections will be a part of routine if you are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. As the pancreas are helping your body by producing insulin, the required amount of insulin depending on the condition you are in will be injected through veins into your bloodstream.

Injections are given through syringes or insulin pens. Diabetes team will help with the procedure and give your guideline of how to use it on daily basis. if the case of chronic you might 2–3 injections every day.

Daily injections are tiring and will have the pressure of time management. Steps are being taken to reduce the hassle of the process by considering the alternative methods which are less clumsy and painless.

Insulin Pumps

It is one of the alternate methods mentioned above. It involves wearing a pump outside the body, mostly around the waist and a cannula from the device will be inserted just below the fat.

A cannula is a small pipe which passes the insulin from the pump into the blood through the insertion made under the fat. It delivers insulin continuously to the blood in small amounts avoiding the frequent attention required in the case of insulin injections.

It can be used for few days until the insulin runs out and needs changing.

Cell Transplantation

This type of treatment injects insulin-producing cells called as islet cell transplantation. It will effectively reduce the amount of the insulin needed to be injected to maintain controlled blood sugar levels.

Islet cells are received by patients by donors who are healthy insulin-producing cells in their pancreas. Few patients have benefited from the transplantation by completely eliminating the need for insulin injections.

Cell transplantation is proven to be safer than pancreas transplantation as there are multiple complications if the body rejects the transplanted organ.

How to Control Type 1 Diabetes?

Make sure that you are maintaining the optimum blood sugar levels and if it is in the chronic stage you should go for type 1 diabetes treatments to avoid further health problems.

Type 1 diabetes diet

Surprisingly, a large percentage of people having diabetes follow the meat-based diet. The reason is that fat content in the meat will create a layer around the cells preventing it from absorbing the glucose.

Unfortunately, people are ignorant of this and they continue to eat meat . Especially in western countries, meat is included in their daily eating plan.

Do not worry about missing out the proteins in the meat if excluded. Plants provide enough proteins for a body to stay healthy. There are many cases where patients seem to be healthily reversing diabetes by incorporating plant-based diet.

Include whole foods in your daily eating plan and exercise as much as you can to prevent the risk of acquiring diabetes. Planning an healthy diet is also one of the type 1 diabetes treatments.

Health Problems

Serious health issue will be developed if type 1 diabetes treatments are ignored or delayed. Some may even result in life-threatening conditions.

Heart Stroke

Diabetes can harm the blood vessels blocking the arteries. It can also damage the nerves that control heart and blood flow. So managing the blood sugar levels is very important to avoid heart strokes.

Other factors that diabetic patients should avoid are

Smoking

Smoking is the biggest enemy of heart. And if you are smoking despite your diabetic condition, you are risking your life with heart attacks. It will cause other long-term problems like lung diseases and numb the nerves in the legs.

Obesity

Being overweight will reduce the impact of type 1 diabetes treatments and increase the risk of developing health diseases. It is important to have a good eating plan if you are obese. Diet should include low-calorie food which benefits existing diabetic condition and also promotes weight loss.

High Cholesterol Levels

Cholesterol is of two types: LDL and HSL. We are concerned the bad type of cholesterol- LDL. Excess amounts of LDL will block the blood vessels and will put your heart at risk.

Kidney Disease

Disease caused by diabetics in the kidney is called Diabetic kidney. The kidney filters the waste from the blood as urine. If excess blood sugar is present it will block the blood vessels in kidney and it cannot perform its activities effectively and develop a Diabetic problem.

Unfortunately, the diabetic kidney will not show any symptoms. Therefore kidney test needs to be done so that treatment can be initiated in the early stage.

To avoid any further kidney complications, type 1 diabetic medications prescribed by the doctor should be taken regularly.

Eye Disease

Diabetes can affect your vision and eyes resulting in diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. High blood sugar levels can damage small nerves behind your eye and cause poor vision. Sometimes swelling of eyes tissues is observed if glucose levels are way beyond the limits.

Eye check at least once in a year is must while maintaining the glucose levels in optimum level through type 1 diabetes treatments.

glaucoma is an eye disease which will affect your optical nerve. Optical nerve connects your eye to the brain. If the diabetic condition is not monitored, it may result in complete blindness

Sexual Problems

Diabetes in men and women may result in sexual dysfunction since high glucose levels can cause damage to even small nerves. When sexual nerves are stimulated, blood is flown to genitals causing the muscle tissue to relax. Damaged to these nerves will ensure normal function.

A recent study showed that 30% of women having type 1 diabetic condition faced sexual dysfunction. Problems include vaginal dryness, lack of sexual interest and no sex drive.

Damage to Nerves

Diabetics cause nerve damage known as Diabetic Neuropathy. It caused to triglycerides which are the result of high blood sugar and high amounts of fat in the blood. Different symptoms include

• Numbness in feet.
• Damage to nerves in the digestive system and other organs like the bladder, sweet glands, and sex organs
• Damage to nerves in buttocks and thighs
• A mild case of paralysis

Dental Problems

The high amount of sugar can cause problems in your mouth. Since glucose is present in saliva, an excess of it can host the bacteria to grow. If not controlled bacteria will combine with the food taken and create a plague.

Diabetes can attack parts of the mouth

• Teeth
• Gums
• Tongue
• Jaw

All these serious health problems are caused if type 1 diabetes treatments are not initiated or not carried out properly. Frequent check-ups and continuous insulin injections can prevent diabetic induced diseases.

As part of prevention of type 1 diabetics, there are no such defined precautions you can take since the cause of this condition is still in the blind side of the eye. However, the diet which has high fat like the diary and meat-based food is observed to the major contributor of developing diabetics.

Eat healthy by incorporating plant-based foods and exercise regularly to prevent any harmful health conditions.