Diabetes

Essay by dudd88 March 2005

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Diabetes is a disease that many people have. With the proper treatment diabetes can be dealt with. Juvenile onset diabetes is a form of diabetes that only occurs in children.

With the disease called juvenile onset diabetes or type I diabetes, the pancreas produces too much glucose in the blood. These high glucose levels in the blood make the person more susceptible for a blockage to form in their arteries. These high levels of glucose can damage nerves causing the patient numbness and tingling (WebMDHealth). The symptoms of diabetes are excessive thirst, increased urination, weight loss, increased appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and absent menstruation in women (Juvenile Onset Diabetes). Patients with diabetes have to monitor and manage their blood sugar very closely because without doing so they have a greater risk of severe medical complications. If the disease is not properly managed, a side effect where "keynotes build up in the blood" (Diabetes).

You may be able to detect this by checking if the patient has "sweet-smelling breath" (Diabetes). With this side effect, the patient may also "suffer confusion, unconsciousness, and death." (Diabetes). This side effect is called diabetic acidosis. Diabetes is found in the 6th chromosome. The factors that affect susceptibility are unknown, but some believe that exposure to cows milk at an early age may be a cause, but that theory had often been discounted (Ask The Diabetes Team). The cause of diabetes is still unknown, but it seems that genetic factors play a large part in the process (Juvenile Onset Diabetes).

To test for diabetes, there are four different kinds of tests. A random glucose test is the test normally used to test, screen, and diagnose patients with diabetes. It is also used to monitor a diabetic's glucose levels. Another form of testing is the two-hour postprandial...