Diabetes
One theory on how vampirism stories began was brought up by Pete Hautman, author of Sweet Blood. [1] After being diagnosed with diabetes he began to research the symptoms, causes, and basic facts. He began to find some eerie information that reminded him of old vampire lore.
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What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder where the pancreas either creates too little or no insulin. [2] When people eat the food is made into glucose, a type of sugar for blood, which is shipped to other parts of the body for normal function. Insulin is a main factor in getting glucose to specific cells, from the blood stream. When there is not enough insulin present or it does not work correctly with the blood, glucose builds up in the blood stream and the body loses its main source of fuel, despite the blood supply being over loaded with glucose.
There are three main types of diabetes. These are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is known as a autoimmune disorder. [2] Autoimmune disorders occur when the immune system, which fights against infection, reacts against a normal bodily function. In type 1 diabetes the immune system attacks and destroys beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The results in not enough insulin being produced, if any at all.
Symptoms include extreme fatigue, increased thirst and urination, constant hunger, weight loss, a short menstruation cycle, and blurred vision. Without diagnosis and treatment a person with type 1 diabetes may lapse into diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a life-threatening diabetic coma.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes relates to old age, family history, being obese or extremely overweight, previous cases gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. [2] This is the most common type of diabetes. This type of diabetes is gradual. In type 2 diabetes the pancreas beta cells are producing enough insulin, but for some reason the body can no longer make full use of it. This is often called insulin-resistance.
While some people may not show any symptoms others include; fatigue, nausea, frequent urination, unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, and slow healing of wound or sores.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational Diabetes occurs only during pregnancy. [2] Like type 2 diabetes women of African-American, American Indian, Hispanic American, and women with a family history of diabetes are more likely to develop this condition. Women who experience gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes as they age.
Hautman’s Theory
While researching diabetes and how to create a great vampire book, Hautman started to look up many diseases that related to vampirism. [1] Hemochromatosis led him to type 1 diabetes. As started to study the symptoms he began to wonder how people that had this disease before 1922, when insulin was "discovered," lived with diabetes.
Symtoms that relate to vampires included; [1]
- Severe weight loss
- Pale, cold, clammy skin
- Elongation of the teeth (from receding gums)
- Bloody teeth (from diseased gums)
- Ravenous hunger
- Extreme thirst
- A sweet, rotten odor
- Loss of hair
- Visual disturbances
- Painful sensitivity to bright light and strong odors
- Confused, angry and aggressive behavior
- Deathlike coma
- Death
Hautman wrote a small explanation on how a person in the middle ages would react with this disease. There is a full essay about this located in Hautman’s novel, Sweet Blood.
"I imagined, then, a scenario taking place in, say, eastern Europe in, say, the Middle Ages. A slowly dying diabetic might look a lot like a person possessed. As the disease slowly destroys his body, his physical appearance becomes increasingly bizarre and frightening. He is rail thin, deathly pale, and his hair is falling out in patches. His teeth appear longer, and his gums are bleeding. His behavior becomes erratic and deranged. He demands tremendous amounts of food and drink, bright sunlight hurts his eyes, and he is repelled by the strong odor of garlic. One might easily imagine him falling into a coma, being pronounced dead, then spontaneously recovering from his coma in a confused and famished state. A stake through the heart might have seemed a reasonable course of action to the frightened and ignorant villagers." [1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hautman, Pete. About Sweetblood. (2008, December). From http://www.petehautman.com/sweetblood.html
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 WebMD. (2009). http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/diabetes-overview