Definition of Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by excessive blood sugar levels ( glucose ).
Glycemia refers to the presence of glucose in the blood.
Increased blood glucose levels are caused by abnormalities in insulin secretion, action, or both. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows cells to use glucose from the blood as an energy source.
As we have commented, a failure of insulin production, its action, or both, will generate an increase in glucose levels in the blood ( hyperglycemia ). Long-term high glucose levels in the blood, if not effectively regulated, can cause changes in the function of many organs, including the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels.
This can be avoided by treating diabetes correctly.
Is it common to have Diabetes?
Diabetes is a very common disease. Diabetes affects more than 143 million individuals worldwide, according to estimates. The WHO considers that 50% of people who have diabetes are undiagnosed.
Kind 2 diabetes is the most frequent type of diabetes (85-90 percent. It is a type of diabetes almost exclusively in adults, although today we can see it more and more in children and adolescents. In the US, out of every 10 diabetics under 18 years of age, 2 or 3 have type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is characteristic of young people. Almost 95% of children and adolescents with diabetes in Spain have type 1 diabetes. In Spain, it is estimated that there are 29,000 children under 15 years of age with diabetes mellitus. Every year there are about 1,100 new cases.
Functioning of the body
In order to understand the changes that occur when you have diabetes, it is important to understand how the body of a person without diabetes works.
Food is made up of three components: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The latter is critical for those who have diabetes. Carbohydrates are classified into two types: simple sugars and starches. Simple sugars ( glucose, fructose ...) are absorbed very quickly since they do not need to break down into smaller products, however, starches are long chains of sugars that need to be broken down to be absorbed. Various substances in saliva, stomach and intestine are responsible for this breakdown of starches.
Once absorbed, the sugars in the intestine will pass into the blood. From there, before going to the bloodstream of the rest of the body, they will pass to the liver, where a good amount of this sugar will be stored in the form of a compound called glycogen.
The sugar that is not stored in the liver will pass to the rest of the blood and from there it will be distributed to all the cells of the body. These cells will use glucose as an energy source to carry out their functions.
There is another store of glycogen and it is the muscles. However, while the glycogen in the liver can be used to raise the level of glucose in the blood, Only the glycogen stored in the muscles may be utilized during exercise.
What is insulin and how does it work?
Many of the various functions that the body performs are controlled by hormones. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas in special cells called beta cells. The insulin acts as a key that "opens the door" of the different cells of the body so that the glucose enters cells and so they have the energy to perform their functions.
Insulin opens the cell door to sugar
When a person without diabetes eats, the amount of insulin rises rapidly to take over the glucose from food.
A large part of the ingested carbohydrates accumulates in the liver in the form of glycogen. On an empty stomach, the glycogen stores in the liver are gradually degraded in order to maintain constant glucose levels. In this way, the body needs a small amount of insulin during the night fast and between meals of the day to be able to assimilate the glucose that comes from the liver.
To summarize, we can say that the functions of insulin are:
Allow the passage of glucose into the cells.
Encourage the storage of glucose in the liver as glycogen.
Manifestations of diabetes
Polyuria or urinating many times. As glucose is high in the blood, it appears in the urine. In order to be eliminated, it needs to be dissolved in very large amounts of water, for this reason, the diabetic urinates many times.
Polydipsia. To compensate for the loss of water through the urine, you are very thirsty, sometimes you even need to drink fluids several times during the night.
Polyphagia. By not being able to use glucose, the cells demand energy and we try to compensate by increasing the amount of food.
Weightloss. Even if they eat more, the glucose does not reach the cells and the child with diabetes loses weight.
Fatigue.
Irritability
Blurry vision
What is the honeymoon period or remission phase?
It is a period of time, which can vary from a few weeks to even a few years, in which the external insulin needs decrease significantly.
Shortly after diabetes is diagnosed and external insulin treatment is started, the pancreas recovers slightly and begins to produce some insulin. Therefore, the amount of insulin that must be supplemented will be less and less. It is important to maintain external insulin therapy, even if very small doses of insulin are required, to help the pancreas and prolong this period as long as possible.
This phase of remission is not experienced by all children, in fact, it is rare in those under three years of age.
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