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Unit 14 - physiological disorders
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understanding of the nature of physiological disorders. They will also be able to gain knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders.
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Isabelle LaneUnit 14: Physiological disorders and their care
For this piece of coursework I am to choose two disorders/diseases, which focus on two
different body systems. I will then write about each physiological disorder and how it affects an
individual. I also will do research and explain what the different causes are for the specific
diseases and the signs and symptoms of each. I will find out how they contrast between the two
different disorders. The physiological disorders that I have chosen are, Diabetes type 1 which is
the endocrine system & Alzheimer’s which is the nervous system disease.
P1 Causes, signs and symptoms of different types of physiological disorders on service users.
Diabetes Type 1
The first disease I will be looking at is Diabetes type 1. Diabetes is a disorder of insulin
metabolism. Type 1 Diabetes mostly occurs in children and adolescents. This disease causes
the level of glucose (sugar) which is in an individual’s blood to become too high. It happens
when an individual’s body cannot produce enough of a hormone called insulin, which controls
the blood glucose. The individual would need to have daily injections of insulin to keep their
blood glucose levels under control.
Signs & Symptoms - The signs and symptoms for this disease are that an individual may have
a constant urge to drink fluids, which would lead to urinating a lot, through research i found that
the reason behind this is the the individual’s kidneys are forced to work overtime to filter and
absorb the excess glucose from their body. When the individual's kidneys can't keep up, the
excess glucose is excreted into their urine, dragging along fluids from their tissues, which
makes the individual dehydrated.The individual may feel really tired and find it really hard to
concentrate throughout their day, I found out that this is because having too high or too low
blood sugar levels can cause fatigue. In both cases, tiredness is the result of having an
imbalance between the individual's level of blood glucose and the amount or effectiveness of
circulating insulin in their body. Another symptom to take into account is sudden blurred vision
that would cause the individual’s pupils to dilate. This is because the high levels of blood sugar
resulting from diabetes can affect the individual’s ability to see by causing the lens inside the
eye to swell, which can result in temporary blurring of eyesight.
There are also visible signs that an individual may have Diabetes type one, this includes a
severely fast weight loss, when nothing has changed within the individual’s lifestyle and diet, for
the reason that when glucose levels become high in an individual, the kidneys work to get rid of
unused sugar through urine. This causes weight loss due to dehydration and loss of calories
from the sugar that wasn't being used as energy. An individual’s tiredness could be visible to
their friends, family and colleagues, which I researched and found that severe tiredness would
be visible through the individual having possessed droopy red eyes that were ringed with black
circles. They also would probably look paler, sadder, and their skin displayed wrinkles. Another
sign is that the individual may have been injured and the wounds may not be healing and could
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,Isabelle Lane
cause constant pain or irritation for the individual. This is because as the individual’s circulation
slows down, the blood moves more slowly, which makes it more difficult for the body to deliver
nutrients to wounds. As a result, the injuries heal slowly, or may not heal at all. The slowing
down of the blood stream is due to the fact that if high blood glucose levels are experienced
over a period of years, the individual’s blood vessels can become damaged which can lead to
plaque forming in the blood vessels making them unable to deliver a sufficient amount of blood
to neighbouring cells.
Causes
Diet, Lifestyle, Genetic Inheritance, environment - Diabetes type two has factors that cause
the disease starting firstly with genetic inheritance, type 1 Diabetes can be passed down
through an individual's genes and would be presumably diagnosed at birth. However, although
Diabetes type is usually thought to be something an individual is born with, it's not always the
case, an individual can also quite easily develop the disease through any of their life stages, as
long as they carry the gene. The most common age for an individual to develop type 1 Diabetes
is between the ages of 4 and 14 years old (between early childhood and adolescence). If the
individual has suffered an illness, sometimes an individual’s body can cause itself to develop
type 1 diabetes, due to an immune response which triggers it. Race and ethnicity are also
factors which are taken into account with this disease, as studies show that certain ethnicities
have a higher rate of inheriting type one diabetes. And individuals sex also highers or lowers the
chances of an individual getting diabetes type one, It is more common for males to be
diagnosed with type one diabetes, the risk of being diagnosed with type one diabetes is
approximately 1.5 times higher for males than females.
Another factor is diet, a healthy balanced diet is crucial to keep the body fit and healthy. If an
individual has a poor diet and is overweight this can cause a strain on the individual’s heart and
all of its other organs including the pancreas, which is where the insulin is usually provided for
the body. An individual would need to keep to a set diet to keep their sugar levels at bay and
make it easier for their body to cope. Another factor would be an individual’s lifestyle and their
choices, not looking after your body can cause it to begin to suffer and struggle with the use of
its organs in day to day life.
There aren’t any environmental factors which cause diabetes type 1. However I have found that
there have been studies to suggest that if an individual, in particular a younger child, is exposed
to viruses and infections, their immune system will destroy the insulin producing cells if the
pancreas, by accident.
Type 1 Diabetes can sometimes be miss diagnosed as the flu, this is because the individual’s
body would be showing signs of extreme high blood sugar. High blood sugar levels can cause
nausea, vomiting and other symptoms and if the blood glucose levels are not tested can be
easily missed diagnosed a stomach flu or another common virus. Another example is that the
gap may think that the frequent urination may be a urinary infection, when in fact it’s Diabetes.
Alzheimer’s
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, Isabelle Lane
The second disease I will be looking at is Alzheimer’s. This nervous system disorder is a type of
dementia that affects an individual’s memory, thinking and their behavior and language.
Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. It is a progressive
disease beginning with mild memory loss and possibly leading to loss of the ability to carry on a
conversation and respond to the environment. The signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s progress
in stages. Early symptoms include, the individual forgets about recent conversations and will
struggle to put together names of people they know like, family members and friends, and would
really begin to struggle naming basic objects and recent places that they have visited, for
example their doctor or the grocery store. The individual may also find it hard to remember the
right words whilst in a conversation causing them to struggle and get frustrated with themselves.
Making decisions about things becomes more difficult as the individual is usually overcome with
confusion, causing them to get stressed and anxious about simple things. The individual may
become more hesitant about trying new things and may struggle to get to grips with sudden
changes.
As Alzheimer’s progresses, so do the symptoms. The individual’s confusion would’ve increased
and day to day tasks may no longer be possible to do, meaning they may need full time care.
This is because the main cause of memory loss and confusion is the progressive damage to the
individual's brain cells caused by Alzheimer's disease. Experiencing disorientation is also
another noticeable symptom which the individual may show, this includes getting lost in a town
that they used to know or not remembering which room is which within their own home. This
may be the result of confusion caused by changes in the brain, memory loss or perhaps due to
difficulties recognising people and objects. The individual could suffer with aphasia, this is
because the individual’s brain is shrinking and causing damage so their speech and language
may become impaired. The later symptoms of Alzheimer’s are that the individual may now have
trouble eating and swallowing which could cause severe deterioration and weight loss. It’s
common for people with Alzheimer's disease to stop eating or drinking in the later stages. At any
time, about 10% to 15% of people who have it don't eat or drink enough and begin to lose
weight. This becomes more of a problem as the disease gets worse. The loss of bowel and
bladder control may also be common near to the last stages of the disease, this is because the
brain has lost its neurons which store the memory of how to do things and when and goes into
overdrive, some say they begin to age backwards and portray actions of an infant by the
gradual loss of speech, memory and simple fine and gross motor skills. For the individual’s
family it may be more visible of the deterioration of the individual than it is for the actual
individual themselves.
The causes of Alzheimer’s are generally genetic inheritance from the gene, Women are
disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease in comparison to men. There is research
showing that there might actually be a unique biological reason for the increase in women that
may contribute to the underlying brain changes and the progress of the disease. Another strong
risk factor is family history, with both genders. Those who have a parent, brother or sister with
Alzheimer’s are more likely to develop the disease. The risk increases if more than one family
member has the illness. When diseases tend to run in families, either heredity (genetics),
environmental factors, or both, may play a role with the risk an individual would have to.
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