Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels. The first symptoms can be so subtle that some people may consider them insignificant. If left untreated, diabetes can not only decrease quality of life but also reduce life expectancy, which is why it is so crucial to diagnose the disease early.
This list shows the most common early signs of diabetes that will help you detect the disease in time.
1. Itchy skin
As mentioned above, when excess sugar is excreted in your urine, it takes fluids from your other tissues, including your skin (your largest organ!). Dry skin can be itchy, and scratching dry skin can cause the skin to become damaged and even infected. Another reason for itchy skin is fungal infections, which are quite common in people with diabetes.
2. Dark spots on the skin
Acanthosis nigricans is a skin condition that presents as dark patches of skin with a velvety texture. They usually appear in areas where the skin folds or stretches most often: on the neck, armpits, groin, elbows, behind the knees, and on the joints of the fingers.
Although this condition can affect otherwise healthy people, it is a common sign of prediabetes or diabetes and should be checked out by your doctor.
3. More appetite
Excessive appetite (polyphagia), along with the increased thirst and urination mentioned above, are the 3 main signs of diabetes. If your body doesn’t produce enough (or any) insulin or respond to it normally, it can’t convert food into the glucose your cells use for energy. And this causes greater hunger that does not go away after eating. In fact, eating only makes your blood sugar rise even more.
If you continue to eat but your hunger persists, you may need to see a doctor, even if you don’t appear to have other symptoms of diabetes.
4. Tingling in the hands or feet
Tingling or pain in your hands or feet (or fingers or toes) is another common sign of diabetes. As mentioned above, high blood sugar leads to poor blood circulation, and this in turn causes nerve damage. Hands and feet, being the parts of the body furthest from the heart, suffer first.
Other signs
5. Increased thirst and urge to urinate
Increased thirst (polydipsia) and frequent urination (polyuria) are the most common symptoms of diabetes. When you have diabetes, your kidneys can’t absorb all the excess sugar. Instead, it ends up in your urine, carrying fluids away from your tissues. This causes you to urinate more and leaves you feeling dehydrated. To quench his thirst, he starts drinking more, which leads to the urge to urinate even more frequently.
The average person urinates 6-7 times a day. Anywhere between 4 and 10 times a day is also normal if the person is healthy and the number of trips to the bathroom for bathing has not changed.
6. Fatigue
Another common sign of diabetes is constant fatigue. When you have diabetes, you feel tired and sleepy all the time for the same reason you always feel hungry: your cells don’t have enough glucose to use for energy. Dehydration caused by frequent urination also contributes to feeling exhausted.
Fatigue can be a symptom of many other conditions, some not even medical (carb-heavy diet, too much caffeine, aging). But when combined with other symptoms on this list, it could be a sign of diabetes.
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7. Blurred vision
When blurred vision isn’t a sign of a more serious eye problem, it could be an early sign of diabetes. This occurs due to shifting fluids, which causes the lens of the eye to swell and change shape. This affects your ability to focus, and things start to look blurry or fuzzy.
These changes in the eye are usually reversible and vision should return to normal as blood sugar levels stabilize with treatment. However, if diabetes is left untreated, these changes can progress and lead to blindness.
8. Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained weight loss means losing a lot of weight without the help of diet or exercise. Since the body cannot use glucose as an energy source when you have diabetes, it begins to burn fat and muscle for energy, causing weight loss. Dehydration also contributes to sudden weight loss as the body uses all available fluids to produce urine.
Unexpected weight loss is a common early sign of type 1 diabetes, but it can also affect people with type 2 diabetes.
9. Slow healing
Cuts and wounds that heal very slowly can often be a symptom of diabetes. High blood sugar not only increases inflammation in cuts and wounds, but it also leads to poor blood circulation, making it harder for blood to reach and repair damaged areas of skin. This mainly concerns the feet, and it is not uncommon for patients with diabetes to develop foot sores that can lead to more serious problems.
If you notice that cuts and wounds are taking longer to heal than before, be sure to mention it to your doctor.
As with many other symptoms on this list, keeping your blood sugar levels balanced will help a lot and circulation should improve.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that can lead to many serious complications if left untreated. The earlier it is diagnosed, the easier it is to manage, and the longer that person’s life will be. If you notice any of these symptoms, especially several of them, make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
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