What Are The Symptoms of Diabetes?
Diabetes often goes unnoticed or ignored, as the symptoms seem to be very harmless. Yet, understanding and detecting the signs and symptoms of this disease, particularly at the earlier stages, is very important to prevent complications at a later stage.
Look out for the following common symptoms of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes:
- Increased frequency of urination – People with this condition tend to visit the washroom more frequently than others. With increased blood glucose levels, the kidney excretes more of this sugar into urine. Urine is then diluted by taking more water from the blood, and this causes the bladder to fill up faster, leading to frequent urination.
- Excessive thirst – With increased frequency of urination, the body tries to replace the lost fluids by drinking more. This results in excessive thirst, causing an individual to drink more fluids than normal.
- Unusual appetite – As the body is not able to effectively use glucose, the main energy provider, the body tries to find alternate methods of obtaining energy by increasing hunger. In some people this may result in sudden weight gain.
- Sudden and unusual weight loss – This is yet another result of ineffective use of body glucose. The body obtains energy by breaking down muscle tissue and fat stores. This is more obvious in the case of Type 1 diabetes, and more gradual in Type 2 diabetes.
- Excessive fatigue and irritability – People with diabetes feel more tired, as the cells do not get enough energy to keep the body active. This leads to irritability in many people.
- Blurred vision – The pulling of tissue from the eye lenses may be one of the reasons for blurred vision in people with this condition. If left untreated, this may lead to vision problems and even blindness.
- Recurring infections – Presence of increased levels of sugar in the blood affects the body’s ability to recover from infections. Vaginal infections are very common among women, while an increased frequency of yeast infections can be noted among men.
- Slow healing wounds and bruises – The body’s ability to heal wounds and cuts are impaired with increased amounts of glucose levels in the blood. Cuts and wounds take more time to heal.
- Numbness and tingling in hands and feet – In many cases elevated levels of blood sugar affects the nerves, leading to numbness or a tingling feeling in the hands and feet.
In some cases, irritating and itchy skin, and reddish, swollen gums also indicate diabetes. Do seek medical help if you are feeling extremely thirsty, or have abdominal pain, along with frequent urination.
