Symptoms of diabetes

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; font-weight: 600;"Fri 18th Jan, 2013

If you are constantly hungry, experience increased thirst and urination and have blurred vision, this may not be a very good sign as you may be suffering from type 1 diabetes.  Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that usually develops over a short period of time, meaning that the body's own immune system destroys its  insulin-producing cells. The cells in the pancreas produce too little insulin or no insulin at all. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day.

Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body cannot properly convert food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Over time, the high blood glucose levels caused by diabetes can lead to several health problems and complications.

About 90 to 95 percent of people over the age of 40 with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of diabetes. This type is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity and ethnicity. The specific causes of type 2 diabetes remain unknown. It develops gradually and is, unfortunately, not really noticeable. Its common symptoms  include frequent infections, slow healing wounds and frequent urination. If you are younger than 45, overweight and have one or more of the diabetes risk factors, you should consider being tested for type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy, and is caused by hormonal changes and weight gain associated with pregnancy.

Complications resulting from diabetes can affect almost every part of the body, including the heart, eyes, blood vessels, teeth, and skin and can even lead to loss of life. Blindness, kidney failure and stroke are examples of long-term diabetes complications. Often, long-term complications can be prevented or delayed by keeping blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides in a normal or close-to-normal range. Effectively managing diabetes is critical to help minimize the risks of future complications.

To prevent diabetes, eat healthy and add more physical activity to your lifestyle.


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