Diabetes is a very serious problem and not just in India but all over the globe. We have brought a list of 17 signs of diabetes so that you can consult a doctor if you think you are dealing with any of them.
According to an article published in The Hindu in November, As many as 7.7 crore people are diabetic in India, due to which India has 2nd most number of diabetic patients in the World, 1st being china with over 10 crore.
Some signs that you might have diabetes include too much tiredness, excessive thirst, and eyesight issues amongst many others. The signs could be subtle however are way serious than you imagine.
However, diabetes does not have a cure, it is manageable through the change in lifestyle and also medications. If left unchecked, diabetes can cause blindness, heart attack, kidney damage, stroke, and even result in loss of limbs.
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What Are The Signs Of Diabetes?
There are many signs of diabetes, some are mild while others are much serious, we highly recommend if you face any of these, do consult your doctor.
1. Tiredness
Also called fatigue in many cases, a mild thing like this could be a sign of diabetes. Though the causes of fatigue are many but if you almost always tired especially after eating when you should be more energetic, it could be due to diabetes and you should consult a doctor.
2. Weight Loss
If you are dieting and exercising or are on pills which helps your shed weight, you are most probably fine. But if there is some unexpected weight loss, you might just be staring at a sign of diabetes.
As your body fails to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat, it starts consuming stored fat in your body to survive. As good as it may sound early on, the easiest way to lose weight, but in the long run, diabetes will lead to starvation, no matter how much you eat.
3. Eyesight Problem
A severe sign of diabetes which can cause to complete and permanent blindness. Diabetes causes blurry vision at first as the eyes depend on the fluid within and around them in order to function effectively.
As the body dehydrates, the lens wraps and struggles to focus at a point, but don’t worry, this condition can be resolved, in most cases, with proper diabetes management.
However, if it is left unchecked, nerves could be severely damaged.
4. Yeast Infections
As gross as it may sound, this is a serious issue, especially amongst the females, however, males aren’t completely safe either. In women, yeast infection often occurs in vaginal tissues.
Yeast feeds on sugar, and it could grow anywhere on the skin and especially the places with moisture, as even sweat contains sugar.
As a diabetic patient’s immune system is below par, containing this infection gets really hard.
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5. Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is one of the signs of Diabetes as men with uncontrolled diabetes likely stems from damage to the blood vessels and the nerves.
Erectile Dysfunction is a very touchy and at times an embarrassing issue to discuss but it is one of those things which does not only affect the sufferer but his partner as well.
If you face this symptom, do consult your doctor as soon as possible.
6. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Commonly called PCOS is a severe metabolic disorder and can cause infertility in women, unfortunately, PCOS also makes the body resistant to insulin which is used to tackle the problem of diabetes.
Also, it was found that 50% of the women with PCOS will develop diabetes, so do get tested for diabetes if you are suffering from this condition.
7. Extreme Thirst And Hunger
In diabetes what happens is that the body gets into overclocking as it tries to process the glucose in the blood and the water is pulled away from the cells in order to flush away the excess, but in this process body, unknowingly, loses all the essential nutrients including glucose.
This leads to a need to eat and drink more than required by a normal human body.
8. Nausea And Vomit
This is a symptom of diabetes which may seem mild, but is very deadly when left unchecked. As your body does not absorb nutrients from the food that you eat and starts consuming body fat, ketones is created in dangerous levels in your blood which can cause diabetic ketoacidosis.
Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a very serious medical condition and can cause death.
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9. Pain In Feet And Legs
Diabetes can cause hardening of the arteries along with nerve damage which are noticeable in feet and legs.
When the never damage meet poor blood flow, it causes skin ulcers or other infections which can be healed but takes a lot of time. Additionally, because diabetes and these condition cause numbness, you may not actually know the real integrity of pain. So, if you see this sign of diabetes, reach out to your doctor.
10. Gum Problems
Dental care is one of the most important things to take care of, however, people, most often care least about it. We could not emphasise on it more but diabetes compromises the body’s immune system which weakens the ability to fight the germs and infections which are everywhere.
And due to a moist environment, the mouth is especially sensitive to infections. Also with the low circulation of blood and high sugar levels, they are more susceptible to infections. So if you feel your gums are loose or teeth are pulling away or even if you develop pockets of pus, seek immediate medical help as it is a severe sign of diabetes.
11. Difficulty Healing Wounds
The reason why diabetics have a hard time healing is because of 2 factors, slow blood circulation and lower immune system. As the circulation slows down, it gets difficult for the body to get the nutrients to reach the wounded area which results in slow healing.
Also, as the immune system is compromised because diabetic patients produce enzymes and hormones which affected the immune system, the wounds take longer to heal. So if you are facing this condition where your wounds take longer to heal consider it as a sign that you might have diabetes.
12. Foul Breath
Bad breath, or also called Halitosis is very common to signs of diabetes found in patients as they are vulnerable to infections, also inflamed and infected gums can cause halitosis. The infections can further impact your metabolism which could further increase the sugar levels in the blood.
Also, the condition called diabetic ketoacidosis can cause bad breath.
13. Too Many Visits To The Restroom
As the body tries to process glucose it pulls away water from cells, the kidneys also get excess workload as it tried to filter and reabsorb the water being flushed out. This means that you will be in a constant need to visit a urinal in order to eliminate the buildup.
This constant peeing will cause dehydration and the urge to drink more, also this can lead to sleepless nights as this process never ends, even during the night.
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14. Repeated UTIs
A Urinal Tract Infection cannot be ignored if you have it, it’s like peeing fire. However frequent UTIs can be one of the sign you might have diabetes as diabetics are more prone to them because of the poor circulation. As the white blood cells could not reach the infected area efficiently due to low blood circulation.
Also with the increase of glucose, the risk of infection also rises, because one thing we have known is that germs love sugar. All the sugar in the urine bladder is nothing short of a breeding ground for the infections.
15. Darkening Of Skin
Formally knows as Acanthosis Nigricans, this condition causes darkeining of the skin which sometimes is added with thickening of the skin. At times it is seen that the affected part of the skin gets slightly elevated and turns velvety in texture.
Most commonly this is found in neck, armpits, under the breast, nape of the neck and groin area. So if you feel or notice this happening, consider it as a symptom of Diabetes and visit a doctor.
16. Prolonged Dehydration
As the point of excess thirst is already covered, this is sort of its extension, as your body tried to get rid of excess glucose and get rids of water in the process, you need to drink more, but no matter how much you drink it would never be sufficient which would lead to dehydration.
It goes without saying that dehydration is a serious issue which can cause death in severe cases. Also, the increase in sugar level decreases the hydration of body which can lead to dry skin, painful joints amongst others. So if you face this issue, take it as a sign of diabetes and get yourself checked.
17. Depression
Though many would think that this is not a direct symptom of diabetes, but can be caused by it, however, there have been studies showing that diabetes can cause depression and the other way around of depression causing diabetes. This is more common in women who are 17% more likely to develop diabetes under depression.
Mental and Physical health goes hand in hand, and if you manage your physical health, you can drastically improve your mental health. If you have any of the above-mentioned signs, you might have diabetes, so please, we humbly request you, do not hesitate to test yourself for it.
Though this disease cannot be cured 100%, but it can be managed to a great extent, and leaving it unchecked will only bring more harm as in severe cases it can cause death. Make sure you share this article with your friends and family to bring the symptoms of diabetes to their knowledge. Don’t just keep yourself safe, but others as well.
