Contents:
- Medical Video: What is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)? - DiaBiteSize
- What is ketoacidosis?
- What are the symptoms of ketoacidosis?
- What needs to be done to prevent ketoacidosis?
Medical Video: What is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)? - DiaBiteSize
Ketoacidosis is one of the most dangerous complications of diabetes. Because if left unchecked, this condition can cause coma to even death. For that, immediately see a doctor if you suspect you have ketoacidosis. Get to know the various signs and symptoms of ketoacidosis in this article.
What is ketoacidosis?
Ketoacidosis can occur in people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Ketoacidosis is a condition of the body produce too much blood acid called ketone. This condition arises if you do not produce enough insulin to absorb glucose into the body's cells to convert blood sugar into energy.
Ketones can be produced by the body when diabetics skip meals, stress, pain, or when they forget to inject insulin into the body. This is why, people with diabetes who are already severe (especially type 1 diabetes) must control their blood sugar levels more.
Ketones that accumulate in the blood over time will cause various symptoms of ketoacidosis.
What are the symptoms of ketoacidosis?
Symptoms of ketoacidosis in diabetics can develop rapidly. Some common symptoms of ketoacidosis are:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Excessive thirst, even dehydration
- Frequent urination
- Stomach ache
- Feeling weak or tired
- Hard to breathe
- Faster heartbeat
- Breath odor like fruit
- Confusion
Examination of blood and urine sugar can also show symptoms of ketoacidosis. If the results of the examination show high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and high ketone levels in the urine, it means you have ketoacidosis.
Severe ketoacidosis can endanger your health. The symptoms damage many important organs in your body, so they can even cause coma. For this reason, you need rapid treatment if you experience symptoms of ketoacidosis. Check with your doctor immediately if you experience these symptoms.
What needs to be done to prevent ketoacidosis?
Long-term high blood sugar is the cause of ketoacidosis. So, you need to control your blood sugar regularly to prevent ketoacidosis.
Some things you can do to prevent ketoacidosis are:
- Control blood sugar regularly. It is important for diabetics to know what their blood sugar levels are, especially before eating and before going to bed. If you already know what your blood sugar levels are, then you can determine what you have to do to keep your blood sugar under control.
- Don't skip insulin injections, especially for people with type 1 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes are very dependent on insulin injections to keep their blood sugar under control. So, skipping insulin injections is very risky.
- Try to always be healthy. Pain can make blood sugar levels uncontrolled and make the body produce more ketones. For this reason, you should check your blood sugar and ketone levels in urine more often when you are sick.
- Be careful when using new drugs. If you are sick and you need to take medication, you should first consult the medication you want to use with your doctor or pharmacist. Some drugs can increase the risk of ketoacidosis, such as steroid drugs.
