What is diabetes insipidus?
Insipidus diabetes is a condition that affects the normal functioning of the kidneys. People who have a disorder tend to have an uncontrollable and insatiable thirst accompanied by excessive urine production. Symptoms are usually caused by genetic or acquired deficiency in antidiuretic hormone (ADH), although other problems such as chronic kidney disease or high calcium can also cause diabetes insipidus. Doctors can provide daily hormonal therapy or other form of treatment after confirmation of the basic cause.
There are two basic types of diabetes insipidus. Central diabetes insipidus denotes the lack or absence of ADH in the body due to problems with hypothalamus or pituitary. Inherited defects, trauma per head or neck, and serious neck infections can disrupt the body's ability to produce and secrete normal ADH levels. The second type, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, involves a problem with the kidneys themselves. Kidney disease, high calcium, genetic defects, and some medicines such as lithiumm, worsen the ability to filter enough water back into the bloodstream.
symptoms of both types of diabetes insipidus are similar. The most visible symptom is excessive thirst because the body reacts to lower than normal blood water levels. A person can develop drought in the mouth, a hoarse voice, fatigue and headaches unless he has access to fluids almost constantly. Excessive urination is partly a symptom of the underlying disease and partly due to increased fluid intake. Problems that are caused by injury, infection or kidney damage may occur at any age, but symptoms are usually present at infant age with genetic disorders.
A person who develops symptoms of excessive thirst and urination that lasts for more than one or two days should visit the hospital. The doctor can analyze urine samples to see if they contain a very high water content and very low SALT levels. Blood is commonlyDrawn to check infection and scan magnetic resonance imaging can be made from the head to check the apparent damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary. If no basic cause is detected, genetic testing may reveal inherited disorder.
In order to follow short -term symptoms, patients are instructed to drink the set amount of fluid every day, get enough rest and report any changes in urine production. Patients with ADH deficiencies are usually prescribed a special synthetic version of ADH called Desmopressin to become stabilized daily by the functioning of the kidneys. Surgery is necessary in rare cases where one of the kidneys or gland in the throat was seriously damaged by infection or injury.