Diabetes mellitus type-1, also know as type-1 diabetes, is a devastating disease that affects millions of people around the world and can be deadly if it is not properly controlled. It is caused by the autoimmune destruction of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas and is defined as the inability to produce sufficient insulin, which precludes the absorption of glucose into the body’s cells (ADA, Standards of Medical Care). Some aspects of the disease are not completely understood by the medical world; treatment and cures have been an ongoing battle for many years in the medical research community.
Signs of diabetes are often hard to detect by the untrained person. People known to be at risk should be screened by their doctor before symptoms …show more content…
Someone you know has, or is affected by type-1 diabetes. The exact cause is unknown and the number of affected patients is not know either. It is estimated that 80,000 new cases arise each year in children and it is estimated that there are 7 million undiagnosed cases (Kishore, “Diabetes Mellitus”). The number of new cases varies among regions and between ethnicities, but it is know that Scandinavia has the highest of number of new cases each …show more content…
If not controlled, or if improperly controlled, diabetes can kill very quickly. A patient with prolonged hyperglycemia from untreated diabetes will eventually fall into DKA. DKA causes acidosis (an abnormally high acidity level in the body caused by ketones), cerebral edema, altered level of consciousness, dysrhythmia, and eventually death if not treated quickly. Even in cases that are not fatal, prolonger hyperglycemia can cause irreversible brain damage with a fatality rate of 9-14 percent. (Kishore, Diabetic Ketoacidosis). A patient who does not control their diabetes properly and overuses insulin can become hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia has a much faster onset, but is often less damaging to the body as long as it is quickly treated. When a patient injects too much insulin or eats too little, their bodies use up their blood glucose very quickly and become lethargic, unresponsive, and sometimes combative; eventually the depressing action of hypoglycemia can cause reduced respiratory rate, reduced heart rate and if not treated, cardiac and respiratory arrest. The body’s sympathetic nervous system is triggered and epinephrine is release to counter the depressed heart rate and respiratory rate (Kishore, Hypoglycemia). Untreated diabetic emergencies are true
Signs of diabetes are often hard to detect by the untrained person. People known to be at risk should be screened by their doctor before symptoms …show more content…
Someone you know has, or is affected by type-1 diabetes. The exact cause is unknown and the number of affected patients is not know either. It is estimated that 80,000 new cases arise each year in children and it is estimated that there are 7 million undiagnosed cases (Kishore, “Diabetes Mellitus”). The number of new cases varies among regions and between ethnicities, but it is know that Scandinavia has the highest of number of new cases each …show more content…
If not controlled, or if improperly controlled, diabetes can kill very quickly. A patient with prolonged hyperglycemia from untreated diabetes will eventually fall into DKA. DKA causes acidosis (an abnormally high acidity level in the body caused by ketones), cerebral edema, altered level of consciousness, dysrhythmia, and eventually death if not treated quickly. Even in cases that are not fatal, prolonger hyperglycemia can cause irreversible brain damage with a fatality rate of 9-14 percent. (Kishore, Diabetic Ketoacidosis). A patient who does not control their diabetes properly and overuses insulin can become hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia has a much faster onset, but is often less damaging to the body as long as it is quickly treated. When a patient injects too much insulin or eats too little, their bodies use up their blood glucose very quickly and become lethargic, unresponsive, and sometimes combative; eventually the depressing action of hypoglycemia can cause reduced respiratory rate, reduced heart rate and if not treated, cardiac and respiratory arrest. The body’s sympathetic nervous system is triggered and epinephrine is release to counter the depressed heart rate and respiratory rate (Kishore, Hypoglycemia). Untreated diabetic emergencies are true