Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects 346 million people around the world. Sadly, diabetes will not merely deduct years from life, but also life from your years. It is vital for you to be aware of symptoms of diabetesbecause the earlier the condition is identified; the better your likelihood is of keeping at bay diabetes complications such as blindness, removal of limb due to poor wound healing, or premature death.
Symptoms of diabetes
One of the common symptoms is increased urination, which is in some cases as frequently as every hour. This occurs since the kidneys try to remove excess sugar by drawing more water from the blood to decrease the sugar and eliminate it as urine.
Happening directly because of disproportionate urination is increased thirst, another common symptom seen in diabetics. Diabetes is caused by inadequate production of insulin or cells no longer reacting to insulin. In both scenarios, the glucose is not able to be absorbed by the cells, leading to cellular starvation. However, the ensuing substantial levels of insulin in the blood stimulates hunger which makes sufferers of diabetes experience excessive hunger which in turn causes them to overeat and put on pounds. The cellular starvation will eventually cause the body to break down muscle tissue and fats for energy, that causes weight loss. Because of cellular starvation, one may also feel weak or experience fatigue.
Poor wound healing is also another commonly cited symptom of this disorder and this is a result of hyperglycemia preventing white blood cells from performing normally. Diabetes is also related to changes in the blood vessels which prevents good flow of both oxygen and nutrients beyond the narrowed artery. This is why diabetics must care for their foot because wounds that do not fully or rapidly heal may get infected and necrotize. In such situation, the limb may be cut off through amputation to avert systemic infection.
Decreased visual acuity is not pathognomonic for diabetes mellitus but is usually found in patients with untreated or poorly treated diabetes. This is also the result of the microvascular changes that occur because of elevated sugar level in the blood.
If you have these symptoms, you should visit your physician at the earliest opportunity so that you can be examined for the said disease. It cant be emphasized enough, the sooner the diabetes is caught, the better your odds will be of preventing more significant complications to your health. Diagnosis for diabetes is usually carried out by blood work up, which is fairly inexpensive and will not cause a lot of pain or trouble. Despite the fact that diabetes has no cure, it can be managed with hypoglycemic drugs, and lifestyle modifications.
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