What are the symptoms and signs of type 1 diabetes?
The characteristic symptoms of diabetes are: • Excessive thirst • Weight loss • Excessive urination • Tiredness These symptoms may be abrupt, developing over a period of a few days. However, the first sign of type 1 diabetes can also be acidote coma, or near coma, as a result of an event called diabetic ketoacidosis in which the levels of glucose in the blood are so high that this life-threatening state occurs. Due to a lack of insulin the glucose in the blood cannot enter the cells where it is desperately needed. To prevent starvation and cell death, lipids are metabolized to ketones. Ketones can be used as food by the cells, for example cells in the brain, even in the absence of insulin. However, the ketones are not only good. They are acidic in nature and cause an acidosis. The condition is called ketoacidosis and is the result of insulin deficiency in type 1 diabetics. As a consequence of this condition, the blood and the tissues are more acidic than normal and this in turn may lea
