All About Symptoms of Diabetes
What are the diabetic symptoms?
Diabetic symptoms include:
- Increased urination and thirst: The normal person needs to urinate four to seven times each day, but persons with diabetes may need to pee much more frequently. Why? Normally, as glucose goes through your kidneys, your body reabsorbs it. However, if you have diabetes, your kidneys may not be able to pull all your blood sugar back in. This causes the body to produce more pee, which dehydrates it. As a result, you will need to go more frequently. You might also pee more. You may become dehydrated because of your frequent peeing. You will pee more if you drink more.
- Increased hunger and exhaustion: The food you eat is converted into glucose, which your cells utilize for energy. However, your cells require insulin to absorb glucose. The glucose cannot get into your cells if your body does not manufacture enough or any insulin, or if your cells fight the insulin your body produces. This can make you feel hungrier and more exhausted than usual.
- Wounds that refuse to heal
- Undiagnosed weight loss
- Eyesight problems: The lenses in your eyes may swell due to changes in fluid levels in the body. They alter their shape and are unable to concentrate.
- Tingling or numbness in the feet or hands
Type 1 diabetes symptoms can appear suddenly, within weeks. Type 2 diabetes symptoms often appear gradually over several years and are so minor that you may not even notice them. Many persons with type 2 diabetes experience no symptoms at all. Some people do not realize they have diabetes until they start experiencing symptoms like blurred vision or heart problems.
Symptoms may vary according to the type of diabetes you have.
Most of your early symptoms are caused by blood glucose levels that are greater than normal. You may not notice the warning signs since they are so minor. This is especially true for people with type 2 diabetes. Some people do not realize they have it until they start having problems because of the disease’s long-term effects. The symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually appear fast, within a few days or weeks. They are also a lot more severe.
Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes
As the pancreas quits generating insulin, type 1 diabetes symptoms appear quickly, over a few weeks. Type 1 diabetes is more commonly diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, but it can also strike adults.
Type 1 diabetes symptoms are usually strong and conspicuous since they appear so soon. For instance, you could drop a significant amount of weight in a few weeks. You may also experience stomach discomfort and vomit. Furthermore, because type 1 diabetes develops so quickly, your blood sugar may reach dangerously high levels before you receive a diagnosis and begin treatment. This can sometimes result in a medical emergency known as ketoacidosis, which necessitates immediate medical attention.
Unintentional weight loss: If your body does not obtain enough energy from food, it will turn to muscle and fat for fuel. Even if you do not change your eating habits, you may lose weight. Find out which foods contain a lot of trans fatty acids.
Vomiting and nausea: Ketones are produced when your body switches to fat-burning mode. These can build up to dangerous amounts in your blood, resulting in diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal illness. Ketones have the potential to make you sick to your stomach.
Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
Because of insulin resistance and the pancreas’ gradual loss of ability to produce enough insulin, type 2 diabetes symptoms take longer to develop than type 1 diabetes symptoms. You might have had type 2 diabetes for many years and not know it. When symptoms do appear, they are usually modest. It is all too easy to reject them or misinterpret them for something else.
Patients with type 2 diabetes develop higher and higher blood glucose levels over time, which can lead to:
- Skin changes
- Loss of eyesight
- Painful feet
- Nerve injury can also result in numbness and pain in the limbs.
- Infections with yeast. These are available to both men and women with diabetes. Yeast thrives when there is lots of glucose available. Infections can thrive in any warm, moist skin fold, such as: between the toes and fingers, beneath your breasts, and in or near-sexual organs.
- Sores or cuts that take a long time to heal. High blood sugar levels can disrupt blood flow and cause nerve damage, making it difficult for your body to repair wounds.
Symptoms In Adults and Children
Most diabetes symptoms are the same in newborns, children, and adults. Infants and extremely young children, on the other hand, will be unable to communicate their symptoms. Instead, symptoms will be seen by parents or carers. You may have noticed a higher demand for diaper changes, weight loss from bedwetting, having a lack of appetite, always feeling thirsty, always feeling weary or weak, nausea vomiting, diaper rashes that do not heal, quick breathing, etc.
Type 1 diabetes is most common in newborns and children, however, type 2 diabetes can also occur in youngsters. The early symptoms are the same in children as they are in adults: Type 1 symptoms will appear more quickly. Type 2 symptoms will take longer to manifest.
Symptoms are broken down by bodily parts
Diabetes can affect various parts of the body. This includes the following:
- Eyes: Diabetes frequently results in hazy vision. Diabetes that is not effectively treated might result in eyesight loss.
- Skin: Diabetes can make healing cuts, scratches, and other wounds more difficult. This can make you more susceptible to illness.
- Bladder: Diabetes can lead to frequent urination and an increased risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
- Feet: Diabetes can restrict blood flow to your feet, making cuts and scrapes on your foot difficult to detect. It also inhibits your body’s capacity to repair wounds.
- Legs and arms: Diabetic neuropathy, discomfort, and numbness in the arms and legs are all symptoms of diabetes.
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes both begin with the same symptoms. Type 2 diabetes symptoms, on the other hand, appear gradually over time. They are usually mild at first. In just a few weeks, Type 1 symptoms manifest. They are usually more serious. Both types of diabetes can cause additional symptoms in your eyes, limbs, feet, and skin over time. Children and newborns suffer the same symptoms as adults, despite their inability to verbalize it. Parents and caregivers should be on the lookout for any unusual symptoms.
Symptoms that are specific to women include:
- Vaginal yeast infections and oral yeast infections, as well as vaginal thrush
Vaginal yeast infections, oral yeast infections, and vaginal thrush can all be caused by an overgrowth of yeast produced by the Candida fungus. Women are particularly susceptible to these illnesses.
Symptoms of an infection in the vaginal region include:
- itching
- painful sex
A white coating on the tongues and within the mouth is common with oral yeast infections. Fungus growth is triggered by high blood glucose levels.
- Urinary tract infections
Women with diabetes are more likely to get a urinary tract infection (UTI). When bacteria enter the urinary tract, UTIs arise. These infections may result in:
- burning sensation while urination
- pee that is bloody or hazy
If these symptoms are not addressed, a kidney infection may develop.
UTIs are frequent in diabetic women, owing to the impaired immune system caused by hyperglycemia.
- Sexual dysfunction in women
High blood glucose destroys nerve fibers, resulting in diabetic neuropathy. This can cause tingling and numbness in several regions of the body, including hands, feet, and legs.
This illness can also alter vaginal feeling and reduce a woman’s sex drive.
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
When a person generates more male hormones than female hormones, he or she is predisposed to PCOS. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) symptoms include:
- irregular intervals
- gaining weight
- acne
- depression
- infertility
Symptoms of diabetes in males
Men with diabetes may experience symptoms linked to sexual health.
- Erectile dysfunction is a condition that affects men (ED)
The inability to generate or maintain an erection is known as erectile dysfunction (ED).
It can be a sign of a variety of health problems, such as excessive blood pressure, kidney disease, and circulatory or neurological system problems. Stress, smoking, and medicine can all contribute to ED. Find out more about ED’s causes.
Diabetes puts men at risk for ED. Erectile dysfunction affects more than half of men with diabetes, according to a recent meta-analysis of 145 research. Consider diabetes as a cause if you have ED.
- Autonomic nervous system dysfunction (ANS)
The autonomic nerve system (ANS) can be harmed by diabetes, which can lead to sexual dysfunction. The ANS regulates how wide or narrow your blood arteries are. Diabetes can cause ED by damaging the blood vessels and nerves in the penis.
Diabetes can damage blood vessels, slowing blood flow into the penis. Another major cause of ED in diabetic males is this.
- Ejaculation in reverse
Retrograde ejaculation is a problem for diabetic men. Some sperm are discharged into the bladder because of this. There may be less semen discharged during ejaculation as a symptom.
- Urologic problems
Diabetic nerve degeneration can cause urologic problems in men with diabetes. Overactive bladder, difficulty to control urine, and urinary tract infections are among them (UTIs).
When Should You Contact Your Doctor?
It is critical to get checked if you are over 45 or have additional diabetes concerns. You can avoid nerve damage, heart problems, and other issues if you catch the condition early.
As a rule, contact your doctor if you:
- sick to your stomach, weak, and thirsty, and you are peeing a lot. You have a bad stomachache.
- Have sweet breath that smells like nail paint remover and are inhaling more deeply and quickly than usual (This is a sign of very high ketones.)