Diabetes is of primarily two types – Diabete mellitus (Type-I and Type II) and Diabetes insipidus.
What is type-1 diabetes?
Type-1 diabetes is sometimes called juvenile diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes. It means that your body can’t make insulin. Insulin helps your body turn the sugar from the food you eat into a source of energy. Type 1 occurs more frequently in children and young adults, but accounts for only 5-10% of the total diabetes cases nationwide.
What is type-2 diabetes?
Type-2 diabetes results when insulin production is defective and tissue resistance to insulin develops. For many persons with Type-2 diabetes, daily insulin supplementation is not required. Diabetes is managed by making moderate changes in diet and exercise. Of the nearly 16 million Americans with diabetes, 90-95% (14.9 million) have Type-2 diabetes. Of these, roughly a third are unaware they have the disease.
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease involving abnormalities in the body’s ability to use sugar. Diabetes is characterized by:
Elevated blood sugars for months to years.
Both hereditary and environmental factors leading to its development and progression.
A relative or absolute deficiency of effective circulating insulin. Insulin is a substance made by the pancreas which lowers blood sugar in conjunction with meals. Diabetes is characterized by either: (1) an inability of the pancreas to produce insulin (type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) or an inability of insulin to exert its normal physiological actions (type 2 or non-insulin dependent diabetes).
Often recognized in patients and their families by excessive urination, thirst, weight loss and/or a lack of energy. But diabetes is often silent and may exist for many years without the individual’s noticing it.
Effects certain “target tissues,” that is, tissues which are vulnerable to the damaging effects of chronically high blood sugar levels. These target tissues are the eye, the kidney, the nerves and the large blood vessels, such as in the heart.
Soft tissue swelling of the hands and feet is often an early feature, with patients noticing a change in ring or shoe size. Gradually, bony changes alter the patient’s facial features: the brow and lower jaw protrude, the nasal bone enlarges, and spacing of the teeth increases.
Overgrowth of bone and cartilage often leads to arthritis. When tissue thickens, it may trap nerves, causing carpal tunnel syndrome, characterized by numbness and weakness of the hands. Other symptoms of acromegaly include thick, coarse, oily skin; skin tags; enlarged lips, nose and tongue; deepening of the voice due to enlarged sinuses and vocal cords; snoring due to upper airway obstruction; excessive sweating and skin odor; fatigue and weakness; headaches; impaired vision; abnormalities of the menstrual cycle and sometimes breast discharge in women; and impotence in men. There may be enlargement of body organs, including the liver, spleen, kidneys and heart.
The most serious health consequences of acromegaly are diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Patients with acromegaly are also at increased risk for polyps of the colon that can develop into cancer.
When GH-producing tumors occur in childhood, the disease that results is called gigantism rather than acromegaly. Fusion of the growth plates of the long bones occurs after puberty so that development of excessive GH production in adults does not result in increased height. Prolonged exposure to excess GH before fusion of the growth plates causes increased growth of the long bones and increased height.
Signs & Symptoms of Acromegaly Addison’s disease
The adrenal cortex makes two important steroid hormones, cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol mobilizes nutrients, modifies the body’s response to inflammation, stimulates the liver to raise the blood sugar, and also helps to control the amount of water in the body. Aldosterone regulates salt and water levels which affects blood volume and blood pressure. Cortisol production is regulated by another hormone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), made in the pituitary gland which is located just below the brain. Classical Addison’s disease results from a loss of both cortisol and aldosterone secretion due to the near total or total destruction of both adrenal glands. This condition is also called primary adrenal insufficiency. If ACTH is deficient, there will not be enough cortisol produced, although aldosterone may remain adequate. This is secondary adrenal insufficiency, which is distinctly different, but similar to Addison’s disease, since both include a loss of cortisol secretion.
Signs & Symptoms of Adenoids
The adenoids become swollen for just the same reasons as the tonsils – infections, both viral and bacterial, as well as allergic stimuli. If the adenoids are quite large, they can cause significant respiratory obstruction, with resultant chronic mouth breathing. This mouth breathing can cause permanent changes in the facial shape – “adenoidal facies” with elongation of the face and an open-mouthed, slack-jaw appearance. Nighttime respiratory obstruction, with snoring and even sleep apnea can cause significant load upon the right side of the heart. Other problems caused by chronic adenoidal hypertrophy include blockage of the eustachian tubes and chronic ear disease and hearing loss
Signs & Symptoms of Glands Affections
Mumps is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through saliva and can infect many parts of the body, especially the parotid salivary glands. The parotid salivary glands, which produce saliva for the mouth, are found toward the back of each cheek, in the area between the ear and jaw. In cases of mumps, these glands typically swell and become painful.
Initially, people with myasthenia gravis may complain about specific muscle weakness, particularly in the eyes, face and neck. They may have difficulty swallowing, chewing or speaking, and may have double vision. They also may feel fatigue, especially later in the day. Symptoms can be aggravated by emotional stress, systemic illness such as a viral respiratory infection, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, hypothyroidism , and other factors.
The infection may also be present in the throat and surrounding areas, causing pharyngitis. Tonsillitis is extremely common, particularly in children. Causes of Tonsillitis
In modern terms, tonsillitis is caused by microorganisms, but this statement is often denied by some group of people like homeopaths, immunologists, etc., who argue that it is mainly due to weak defence system.[citation needed] Because tonsillitis is often found in people with low defence activity.[citation needed] However, the following are the usual causative.
organisms:
Streptococcus (commonly referred to as “strep”) bacteria (the most common cause of tonsillitis)
* Adenoviruses
* Influenza virus
* Epstein-Barr virus
* Parainfluenza viruses
* Enteroviruses
* Herpes simplex virus
Symptoms of Tonsillitis:
The set of symptoms of tonsillitis vary from individual to individual.
However, following symptoms are commonly seen in tonsillitis patients.
• Sore throat more than 48 hours
* Swollen and red tonsils
* Yellow, gray or white coated tonsils
* Difficulty swallowing
* Blisters in the throat
* Ear pain
* Ulceration in the throat
* Fever and chills
* Headache
* Tender jaw and throat
* Loss or change of voice
* Loss of appetite
* Malaise
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Abdominal pain