The key difference between glycosuria and glucosuria is that glycosuria is caused due to the presence of excess reducing sugars such as glucose, galactose, lactose, and fructose in the urine, while glucosuria is caused due to the excess presence of glucose in the urine.
Glycosuria and glucosuria are two associated medical conditions. Glycosuria is defined as the excess presence of reducing sugars like glucose, galactose, lactose, fructose, etc., in urine. Glucosuria is the most common type of glycosuria. Both these conditions can occur due to underlying medical conditions.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Glycosuria
3. What is Glucosuria
4. Similarities – Glycosuria and Glucosuria
5. Glycosuria vs Glucosuria in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Glycosuria vs Glucosuria
What is Glycosuria?
Glycosuria is a medical condition arising due to the excess of reducing sugars such as glucose, galactose, lactose, and fructose in the urine. Usually, urine does not contain sugars as sugars are reabsorbed by kidneys into the blood again. Glycosuria occurs when urine contains more sugars than normal. When there are too many sugars in the blood, the kidneys may not be able to reabsorb them all. Therefore, the body excretes the excess sugars through urine. Glycosuria can occur due to different reasons, such as type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and kidney disease.
The typical symptoms of this condition may include extreme hunger, extreme thirst or dehydration, accidental urination, more frequent urination, more urination at night, fatigue, vision trouble, minor cuts and abrasions that take too much time to heal, unexpected weight loss and darkening of the skin in armpits, neck and other regions where skin tends to fold.
Glycosuria can be diagnosed through physical examinations, blood tests, and urine tests. Furthermore, treatment options for glycosuria may include changing the diet and including more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins in the diet, doing regular exercises, taking oral or injectable type 2 diabetes medications, injecting insulin, and tracking blood sugar level to understand about effectiveness of diet, therapies, and other activities.
What is Glucosuria?
Glucosuria occurs due to the presence of excess glucose in the urine. It is the most common type of glycosuria. It can occur due to a defect in the tubular cells of the kidneys, which decreases the reabsorption of glucose. Some glucosuria conditions are hereditary and occur as a part of disorders like Fanconi syndrome. Others are acquired and may be due to certain drugs or diseases that damage kidney tubules. Moreover, other diseases like diabetes mellitus can also cause glucosuria. The symptoms of this condition may include increased thirst and urination, increased hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, sores that do not heal, and weight loss when people are not trying to lose weight.
Glucosuria can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, blood, urine, and glucose tests, and genetic testing. Furthermore, treatment options for glucosuria may include reducing sugar and processed food in the diet, eating a diet of whole food with vegetables, reducing carbohydrate consumption, drinking a lot of water, daily physical activities, losing weight, limiting alcohol, taking insulin and medications like metformin, ACE inhibitors, statins and anti-glucagon like peptide 1 receptor antagonists.
What are the Similarities Between Glycosuria and Glucosuria?
- Glycosuria and glucosuria are two associated medical conditions.
- Glucosuria is the most common type of glycosuria.
- Both conditions may have similar symptoms, such as increased thirst, frequent urination, etc.
- They can be diagnosed through blood and urine tests.
- They are treated through specific medications and lifestyle changes.
What is the Difference Between Glycosuria and Glucosuria?
Glycosuria occurs due to the presence of excess reducing sugars, such as glucose, galactose, lactose, and fructose, in the urine, while glucosuria occurs due to the presence of excess glucose in the urine. Thus, this is the key difference between glycosuria and glucosuria. Furthermore, glycosuria can occur due to several reasons, such as type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and kidney disease, while glucosuria can occur due to Fanconi syndrome, certain drugs, or diseases that damage kidney tubules and diabetes mellitus.
The below infographic presents the differences between glycosuria and glucosuria in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Glycosuria vs Glucosuria
Glycosuria and glucosuria are two related medical conditions. This is because glucosuria is the most common type of glycosuria. However, glycosuria is a term used to describe the presence of excess reducing sugars in the urine, such as glucose, galactose, lactose, and fructose, while glucosuria is a term used to describe the presence of excess glucose in the urine. So, this summarizes the difference between glycosuria and glucosuria.
Reference:
1. “Glycosuria: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.” WebMD.
2. Rajendra Bhimma, MBChB. “Renal Glucosuria.” Background, Pathophysiology, Epidemiology, Medscape.
Image Courtesy:
1. “R. Major, The treatment of diabetes mellitus Wellcome L0031617” By Welcome Image Gallery (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia