Diabetes - What Are The Causes And Symptoms?

The most important points in brief

• There are two types of diabetes with different causes.
• The symptoms may be the same, but there are also different signs of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
• If you have diabetes, you must seek medical treatment.
• Otherwise it can lead to serious consequential damage.

For many people the diagnosis comes as a shock: diabetes! In the vast majority of cases this means that you have to give up your usual lifestyle and switch to a healthy diet. But what are the causes of type 1 and type 2 diabetes?

The causes of diabetes

Anyone with type 1 diabetes may have suffered from a weakened immune system or an infection caused by a virus in the past. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, has completely different reasons, which are often due in no small part to one's own unhealthy lifestyle.

A genetic predisposition can also be a reason why type 2 arises. As a rule, however, there are other factors that are the cause. Something to be mentioned here is overweight, and in most cases we have to attribute that to ourselves through too little exercise and the wrong diet. High blood pressure also falls into this category. We have all known for a long time that smoking is harmful, but tobacco smoke can also contribute to our developing type 2 diabetes.

Other causes of this disease are hormone-related diseases, age and certain drugs that damage the sugar metabolism. For example, cortisone is one of these drugs.

This is how diabetes can express itself: Type 1

You also have to distinguish between the two types of diabetes when it comes to symptoms. For example, the symptoms of type 1 often show up very suddenly (better said: the symptoms of the secondary diseases) without warning, because the insulin deficiency has already triggered these consequences. These symptoms include, for example, that you have to urinate very often, at the same time you are often very thirsty.

Anyone who suffers from inexplicable itching may also be affected by type 1 diabetes, poor performance and an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases can also be symptoms. Last but not least, type 1 is also shown by the fact that one often feels exhausted or quickly loses a lot of weight.

Type 2 diabetes - these are the effects

As different as the causes of the two types of diabetes are, at least some of the symptoms are similar. Because the need to frequently empty the bladder and the strong thirst can also occur in this case. Type 2 can also be more susceptible to infections. Other possible symptoms are persistent depressive moods or a lack of motivation. Constant tiredness can also be an effect of type 1 diabetes, and it is also possible that wounds will heal poorly.

If you are concerned that you have diabetes, it is imperative that you consult a doctor and raise your concerns. The doctor will then usually arrange for a blood sugar test to be carried out immediately. Because the earlier this disease is recognized, the more it helps to take countermeasures and thus keep the secondary diseases and damage within limits. Possible long-term effects of diabetes are damage to the retina, damage to blood vessels, nerve disorders, damage to the kidneys, the so-called diabetic foot or depression.