What is the difference between type I and type II diabetes?

The primary difference between the two has to do with the way insulin is handled by the body.

Type I diabetes is a condition where the pancreas no longer produces insulin for the body. Through an unusual occurrence of the body attacking pancreatic cells (beta cells to be specific), insulin is no longer manufactured, and therefore, the body's cells are starved of glucose, resulting in hyperglycemia (also known a high blood sugar).

This type of diabetes typically occurs early in a person's life. Genetics plays a large role in this particular form of diabetes, and to use the cliché, you never really see it coming. This form is not really preventable. Through an autoimmune disorder, the body's defense mechanisms trigger and attack the beta cells of the pancreas where the insulin is made. As a result, the body no longer has a way of getting glucose into the cells where energy I supposed to result. The victim of this attack on him or herself unfortunately has no defense against this.

The symptoms onset is quick, usually within a matter of weeks of the pancreas shutting down production. In order to control the patient's blood sugar, supplemental insulin must be provided to the patient. Traditionally, this has come in the form of an insulin injection.

Without this supplemental insulin, the patient could suffer a whole range of conditions, some of them resulting in death if appropriate action is not taken. A person whose blood sugar is above or below normal will show specific signs such as sluggishness, confusion, profuse sweating, etc.

Type II diabetes is the most common form and is preventable to a certain extent. Type II diabetes occurs when the pancreas manufactures too little insulin to be effectively used by the body, or the body fails to use the insulin produced. In either case, the complications from out-of-control diabetes can result in blindness, limb amputations, and even kidney failure, dooming the patient to a life of kidney dialysis hospital trips.

Typically, this condition happens in people over the age of forty years old, however, due to the increase in obesity in youth, type II diagnosis of diabetes is on the rise, and at an astounding rate at that.

In most typical cases, a doctor will be alerted to blood sugar that is higher than normal. This stage is known as pre-diabetes, and it affects millions of school age children. Without proper intervention, a change in lifestyle and/or diet, the pre-diabetes stage will become full stage type II diabetes.

The interventions will usually include monitoring a patient's weight, diet, and exercise. A diet low in sugar will most certainly be prescribed. Sugar is a key factor in the progress or decline of diabetes. Too much sugar over long periods of time can have a negative effect on a person's health, most specifically on the way the body produces insulin to handle all the sugar. Colas and soft drinks, candy, and other junk food is a culprit that presents itself to young people on a daily basis, and can certainly be considered a factor in the rising rates of diabetes in young people.

While there is no cure for diabetes, those with the condition can control it and live a full life without many complications. Diligence is required in eating the right food, taking the proper medications and/or insulin supplements at the appropriate times. If the proper measures are not taken, the patient's life span will be significantly shorter.