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People who suffer from diabetes are at risk of serious problems such as blindness, heart attack and even losing a leg. However, if you pay attention to the alarm signals of your body, you can detect this dangerous disease in time and avoid irreparable consequences.
In particular, doctors identify 17 symptoms that may indicate that a person has diabetes.
1. Fatigue
Of course, many things cause fatigue, including the simplest explanation that a person simply does not sleep enough. But fatigue almost always accompanies diabetes. After all, the body tries and is unable to use the "fuel" it receives. If you find that you are very tired after eating and need more energy, this is a clear sign that diabetes may be present.
2. Excessive hunger and thirst
With diabetes, the body is overloaded with the task of breaking down glucose in the blood. Water is removed from the cells because it is present in the body in excess. But at the same time, all the important nutrients that your body needs, including glucose itself, are lost. As a result, dehydration and hunger occur.
3. Frequent urination
As water is removed from all cells to remove excess glucose, the kidneys become overwhelmed trying to filter and reabsorb it. This means that you will run to the toilet much more often than usual to avoid fluid accumulation in the body. As a result, dehydration and chronic fatigue may occur. After all, this problem often bothers a person with diabetes 24/7 and prevents sleep.
4. Yeast infections
Yeast infections most often occur in the vagina in women, but sometimes men also suffer from it. Yeast feeds on excess sugar, which can be excreted in sweat, urine, and mucus. Thus, yeast infections occur almost anywhere on the skin, but especially in areas that tend to retain moisture.
5. Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes is likely related to nerve and blood vessel damage.
6. Poor eyesight
Diabetes causes vision loss because your eyes depend on fluid in and around them to function properly. Dehydrated eyes become deformed and struggle to focus. In addition, diabetes also causes nerve damage. As new blood vessels in the back of the eye try to replace the damaged ones, permanent blindness can occur.
7. Wounds heal slowly
If you notice any cuts or sores that won't heal (assuming they aren't constantly injured), this could also be a sign of diabetes. First, the body cannot repair the damage because its resources are directed to removing the excess glucose, and second, many co-infections simply love to feed on sugar and will take advantage of its availability.
8. Unexplained weight loss
Your body cannot get energy from the food you eat and instead burns fat to survive. This is not sustainable in the long term and is a sign that diabetes makes a person starve regardless of how much they consume.
9. Nausea and vomiting
When diabetes causes rapid weight loss, the body burns fat at an unsustainable rate. This process creates ketones, which can build up in the blood at dangerous levels and lead to a potentially fatal condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones cause nausea and even vomiting in people with sensitive stomachs.
10. Painful or numb feet and legs
Diabetes leads to hardening of the arteries as well as nerve damage, and these symptoms are quite noticeable in the legs and feet. Poor blood circulation and nerve damage combined can lead to skin ulcers or infections that take a long time to prevent wounds from healing.
11. Swollen or sensitive gums
Diabetes weakens the body's ability to fight microbes that exist at every turn. Because of the moist environment, sharp teeth surrounded by soft tissues, and everything that gets in there every day, the mouth is especially susceptible to infection. Seek immediate help if your gums are too soft, have peeled away from your teeth, or have pockets of pus.
12. Bad breath
13. Frequent urogenital infections
One of the reasons why diabetics are prone to these painful infections is poor blood circulation, which makes it difficult for white blood cells to reach the infected area. High blood glucose also increases the risk of infections in general and increases the total volume of urine. All that sweet fluid in the bladder becomes a breeding ground for infection.
14. Polycystic ovary syndrome
This condition is the leading cause of infertility among women who suffer from it, and unfortunately, it also often leads to insulin resistance. Up to 50% of women with this problem will eventually develop diabetes. Therefore, if you are diagnosed with it, you should strictly follow the doctor's recommendations regarding lifestyle changes.
15. Darkening of the skin
This symptom includes darkening and thickening of the skin, especially in the folds. Sometimes the darkened skin will be slightly raised and velvety in texture. Most often, it is found under the armpits, on the neck, in the groin or under the breasts. Doctors consider such skin changes to be a sign of diabetes and believe that they are associated with insulin resistance.
16. Chronic dehydration
Dehydration occurs due to the fact that the high content of glucose in the blood forces the body to extract water from the cells and does not allow it to be properly replenished. The need to urinate constantly removes this water from the body completely. Dehydration is a serious problem that can kill. It also contributes to other problems, including dry skin, poor vision, and painful joints.
17. Irritability/depression
Because the symptoms of diabetes can be vague and seem unrelated, they can cause unpleasant emotions. In addition, they develop against the background of the aforementioned problems - exhaustion caused by cell starvation, decreased sex life due to erectile dysfunction or constant yeast infections, bladder infections.
