WHAT IS TYPE 1 DIABETES?

What is Type 1 Diabetes – Type 1 diabetes is a serious condition that affects the way your body turns food into energy.

Imagine your body as a car. You need fuel (sugar) to drive it. Insulin is the key that helps this fuel get into your car’s engine (your cells). In type 1 diabetes, the factory in your body that makes this key (insulin) breaks down. This means your body can’t use sugar properly, which can lead to serious problems.

Let’s explore this complex condition in more detail.

In type 1 diabetes, our body’s immune system destroys the beta cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, a hormone necessary for the body to use blood sugar. Due to this, there is a lack of insulin in the body and the amount of sugar in the blood increases and the person becomes a victim of type 1 diabetes.

Why this happens, what are its reasons, what can be the other reasons for having type 1 diabetes, read this article completely to understand type 1 diabetes better.

What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Type 1 Diabetes: When Your Body’s Sugar Helper Disappears

Imagine that your body is a factory that makes energy. To run this factory, you need a special fuel called sugar (glucose). This sugar comes from the food you eat.

Your body has a helper called insulin. It is like a little worker that helps sugar get into the factory machines (your cells) to make energy.

In Type 1 Diabetes, this helper disappears. Your body stops making insulin. This means sugar cannot get into your cells, and it accumulates in your blood. This excess sugar can cause major problems if not managed properly.

Let’s discuss this in more detail.

Type 1 diabetes (formerly called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes) usually had symptoms in children, teenagers, and young adults, but now it can start showing symptoms at any age.

Type 1 diabetes occurs less frequently than type 2 diabetes. Only about 5-10% of people with diabetes develop type 1 diabetes. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes, but with the help of a healthy lifestyle, dietary changes, daily yoga, exercise, etc., you can keep it under control. For this, you should consult your doctor.

What causes type 1 diabetes?

• Type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune reaction (in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the body itself) that destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, called beta cells. This process does not happen in a day or a month but can go on for months or even years before any symptoms appear.
• Some people have certain genes that they inherited from their parents or the elderly that cause them to develop type 1 diabetes, although many people will not develop type 1 diabetes even if they have the gene.
• A variety of viruses also cause an autoimmune response and play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes.
• If the pancreas is removed from the body due to an infection or virus, or due to injury or surgery, there will be no insulin-producing beta cells left in the body and the person will have to rely on injections for insulin.

Diet and lifestyle habits do not cause type 1 diabetes.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes 

A person does not get type 1 diabetes in a day or a month, but it can take several months or years for the beta cells present in his body to be destroyed. When these beta cells are destroyed in excessive amounts, then symptoms of type 1 diabetes start showing in a person’s body. It starts showing its effect in a few weeks or months. Once symptoms appear, they can gradually become severe.

If you think you may have type 1 diabetes, don’t waste time and see your doctor immediately to have your blood sugar checked. If type 1 diabetes is not treated in time, very serious—even fatal—health problems can arise and land you in trouble.

Contact your doctor immediately as soon as these 3 symptoms of type 1 diabetes appear together –

1. being very thirsty
2. excessive urination
3. feeling very hungry

Testing for Type 1 Diabetes | Tests for Type 1 Diabetes

• A simple blood sugar test can tell whether you have diabetes or not.
• If your doctor thinks you have type 1 diabetes, your blood may also be tested for autoantibodies. This test gives information about such substances present in your body that show that your body is attacking itself. which are often present only in patients with type 1 diabetes, but not in patients with type 2 diabetes.
• You can have your urine tested for ketones. Ketones are the products present in urine when your body burns fat for energy, which also indicates type 1 diabetes rather than type 2 diabetes.

Management of Diabetes | Managing Diabetes

To keep diabetes under control, you need a lot of care and by taking care of yourself every day, you can maintain control of diabetes and live a long and healthy life.

Diabetes affects the most important functions of your body and for this reason, it can affect almost every part of your body. Therefore, you will need to manage your blood sugar levels. Managing your blood sugar as well as blood pressure and cholesterol can help prevent health problems that can occur when you have diabetes.

Let us know what you should do to manage diabetes:-

Knowing your diabetes ABCs will help you control your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. If you smoke, stopping smoking will also help you manage your diabetes. Working toward your ABCs goals can make you less likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or other diabetes problems.

1. Get the Diabetes ABCs tested and keep them under control.
   A = for A1C test
   B = for blood pressure
   C = for cholesterol
   s = for smoking / smoking cessation
2. What to eat and what not to eat in diabetes and follow the diet plan.
3. Include physical activities like exercise, morning walk, yoga etc. in your daily routine.
4. Take your medicine on time.
5. Stay away from stress

What should be the blood sugar level of type 1 diabetes patient?

People with diabetes should aim to keep their blood sugar at these normal levels.

• Before meals: 80 to 130 mg/dL
• About 2 hours after the start of a meal: less than 180 mg/dL

A diabetic patient should keep records of his daily level of blood sugar and keep these records checked by his doctor. Based on these records, the doctor can make necessary adjustments in your treatment.

Hypoglycemia and Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Patients with type 1 diabetes who need to take insulin in the form of injections to stay healthy and alive can face 2 problems quite often and for this reason. It is very important to be aware of them. These two problems are hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis.

These 2 conditions are common problems of type 1 diabetes, and it is very important for you to know how to handle them.

Hypoglycemia ie low blood sugar

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a dangerous condition in which the blood sugar level becomes very high drops too quickly and needs to be treated quickly. If it is not treated on time, the patient may also be in danger of life.

The main reason for this happening is taking too much insulin. Also not eating on time, waiting too long for a meal or snack, not eating enough food, or doing extra physical activity.

If a diabetic patient develops low blood sugar several times a week, talk to your doctor immediately to see if your treatment needs to be changed.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious complication of diabetes that can be life-threatening. DKA develops when your body doesn’t have enough insulin. Too much blood sugar and low levels of insulin lead to DKA.

The two most common reasons for this are type 1 diabetes disease and not taking insulin shots on time. Talk to your doctor and make sure you understand how you can prevent DKA and how to treat it if necessary.

Type 1 Diabetes FAQs

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Reference:-

• https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/what-is-type-1-diabetes.html
• https://www.emedicinehealth.com/most_common_symptoms_of_undiagnosed_diabetes/article_em.htm
• https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/managing-diabetes