Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a medical condition that usually happens to people with a type 1 diabetes. Simply put, diabetic ketoacidosis happens when a diabetic becomes dehydrated and is relatively lacks insulin at the same time. What happens is that the body goes into panic mode and the hormones start to break down fats and muscles and turn these into fuel for the body to use. In other words, because there is no insulin to take the glucose from blood, the body resorts to using the body fat as energy source.

Also, when diabetic ketoacidosis happens, there is a rise in blood sugar that is too much for the kidney to handle. What results is that the person urinates more than usual, and that further leads to dehydration. Typically, when the body goes into a diabetic ketoacidosis, 10% of the overall bodily fluids is lost.

People with a type 1 diabetes are the ones commonly affected by this disease, but it can also occur to anyone with diabetes. There are also common situations that trigger the development of this medical condition among diabetic people. Some of the most common events include diarrhea, insulin deficiency, and vomiting with high fever. Also, if a person hasn't been diagnosed as a diabetic before and the previous events occurred, it's likely for diabetic ketoacidosis to develop.

There are also other more serious causes such as heart attack, alcohol or drug abuse, and surgery. What's worse is that some 5% of all the overall cases of diabetic ketoacidosis has no identifiable causes yet. If you think that you are already developing the condition, watch out for the common symptoms as well like excessive thirst and drinking, frequent urination, loss of appetite, increased heart rate and having a distinctive fruity odor on your breath.

If you want to know more about this condition, better make a more in-depth research or ask your doctor about it.