Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
Are you worried that you, your child, or someone you know might have diabetes? If you have some symptoms of diabetes, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have it, but you should always consult a doctor to be sure.
Symptoms of diabetes:
These symptoms can affect anyone—adults or children. However, people with type 1 diabetes are more likely to experience them, and they can develop very quickly.
- Bathroom – frequent urination, especially at night.
- Thirst—unusually intense thirst.
- Fatigue—a feeling of being more tired than usual.
- Weight Loss – Lose Weight Effortlessly.
- Itching or candidiasis in the genital area.
You Have Symptoms of Diabetes: What’s Next?
If you feel very unwell or are experiencing symptoms of diabetes, make an appointment for an urgent checkup with your primary care physician. If you have any symptoms of diabetes, it is important to contact your primary care physician.
What causes the symptoms of diabetes?
The symptoms of diabetes occur because some or all of the glucose remains in the blood and is not used by the cells as fuel for energy. The body tries to lower blood glucose levels by excreting the excess glucose through urine, which makes you feel thirstier and causes you to urinate more frequently. High levels of glucose excreted in the urine provide an ideal breeding ground for a fungal infection that causes candidiasis.
However, not everyone experiences symptoms; as a rule, 6 out of 10 people have no symptoms when they are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Risk Factors for Diabetes.
Understanding risk factors can help you decide whether you need to take any steps to reduce your risk.
There is still much we do not know about the risk factors for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which is why we fund research on this topic.
We know that family history and genetics can slightly increase your risk of type 1 diabetes. They can also increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Unlike type 1 diabetes, we know that there are other risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes.
Type 1
Although it is most commonly diagnosed in childhood, people can develop type 1 diabetes later in life as well. We know that family history and genes can slightly increase the risk of type 1 diabetes
Type 2
Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include:
- family predisposition
- age 40 or older
- sedentary lifestyle
- obesity
There are also other risk factors related to social inequality and education.
Understand Your Risk
Check your risk for type 2 diabetes with our free test. It only takes two minutes to find out if you’re at risk for type 2 diabetes. If your result is high, you’ll need to ask your doctor for a blood test.
If you ignore the signs of diabetes
It is difficult to overlook the signs of type 1 diabetes, as the symptoms (severe thirst, frequent urination, weight loss) usually appear quite suddenly. Although type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in childhood and adolescence in most people, the symptoms are the same at any age.
Type 2 diabetes is easier to overlook because it develops more slowly, especially in the early stages, when the symptoms are harder to notice. However, untreated diabetes affects many vital organs, including the heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys, which is why timely diagnosis and treatment are of the utmost importance.
