Diabetes refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar. Glucose is vital to your health because it is an important source of energy for the cells that make up muscles and tissues. It’s also your brain’s main source of fuel. The underlying cause of diabetes varies by type. But no matter what type of diabetes you have, it can lead to too much sugar in your blood. In this article, we’ll be discussing the early signs and symptoms of diabetes.
Signs and symptoms of diabetes
- Early signs of Diabetes
Urinating more frequently and being more thirsty
The average person usually needs to urinate 4 to 7 times in 24 hours, but people with diabetes may urinate more. Why? Normally, your body reabsorbs glucose as it passes through the kidneys. But when diabetes pushes up your blood sugar, your kidneys may not be able to bring it all back. This causes the body to produce more urine, which requires fluids. Result: you have to go often. You can also urinate more. Because you pee too much, you will become very thirsty. When you drink more, you also pee more.
Dry mouth and itchy skin
Because your body is using fluid to urinate, less water is used for other things. You may be dehydrated and your mouth may feel dry. Dry skin can make you itchy.
Blurred vision
Changing fluid levels in the body can cause the lens in the eye to swell. They change shape and cannot concentrate.
Hunger and fatigue
Your body converts the food you eat into glucose, which your cells use for energy. But your cells need insulin to absorb glucose. If your body isn’t producing enough insulin or any insulin, or if your cells are resistant to the insulin your body is producing, glucose can’t get into them and you have no energy. This can make you hungrier and more tired than usual.
- Type 2 Diabetes signs:
Yeast infection
Both men and women with diabetes can get these. Yeast feeds on glucose, so there’s plenty of room around for it to thrive. Infections can grow in any warm, moist skin fold, including:
The wounds heal slowly
Over time, high blood sugar can affect your blood flow and cause nerve damage, making it difficult for your body to heal wounds.
Pain or numbness in your feet or legs
This is another consequence of nerve damage.
- Type 1 Diabetes signs:
Unplanned weight loss
If your body can’t get energy from the food you eat, it starts burning muscle and fat for energy. Even if you don’t change the way you eat, you may lose weight. Find out which foods are high in trans fatty acids.
Nausea and vomiting
When your body starts to burn fat, it produces ketone bodies. These can build up to dangerous levels in your blood, which can be life-threatening, called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can also make you feel sick to your stomach.
