Signs and Symptoms of High Risk for Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition when either your pancreas cannot create enough insulin or you have insulin resistance. As a result, your body has high levels of glucose in the blood. Diabetes can silently damage your organs without exhibiting any high diabetes symptoms. Therefore, you should be cautious and get regular health check-ups to check if you have diabetes. Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, increased thirst, excessive hunger, sudden weight loss, or patches of dark skin, which put you at high risk of diabetes.
Frequent urination
When you have high blood glucose levels, your kidneys work extra hard to pass the excess sugar out of your body. As a result, you have to urinate more often. Among the signs and symptoms of diabetes, frequent urination is a common one. It is an early warning sign that you might be at a high risk of diabetes. Your need to urinate becomes so urgent that you have to wake up.
Increased thirst
One of the high diabetes symptoms is excessive thirst. When your kidneys work extra hard to pass out the excess sugar, you urinate more. As a result, valuable fluids pull out from your tissues. Your body becomes dehydrated and feels the urge to drink more water.
Always feeling hungry
Another symptom diabetes could lead to is increased hunger. Your digestive system processes the food consumed into simple sugar, known as glucose. Your body uses glucose as a fuel to build up energy. One of the sugar diabetes symptoms is your cells cannot absorb enough of the glucose from your bloodstream. As a result, your body cannot absorb the required energy from the food consumed. Consequently, you always feel hungry, no matter how much you need.
Slow-healing cuts and wounds
Slow-healing cuts and wounds are the predominant signs and symptoms of diabetes. When you have a high level of sugar in your bloodstream, it damages your blood vessels and nerves. Damaged blood vessels and nerves lead to poor blood circulation. As a result, minor cuts ad wounds might take several weeks or even months to heal. There is a high risk of infection when your cuts ad wounds take longer to heal. If you notice that your cuts and wounds are not healing quickly, it can be a symptom of diabetes.
Itching and yeast infections
When your body has excessive sugar, it acts as a catalyst for yeast production. Yeast leads to infection in the warm and moist parts of your skin. A symptom of diabetes can be frequent yeast infections in your body. The mouth, armpits, and genital area are more prone to yeast infections. The areas affected by yeast infection are itchy and might experience redness, soreness, and burning.
Feeling very tired
Visible signs of diabetes are the constant feeling of tiredness. You might not have the least energy even to do your daily chores. The fatigue is a result of a lack of energy. When you have diabetes, sufficient sugar does not enter your cells from the bloodstream. As a result, sugar does not transform into energy leading to excessive fatigue.
Losing weight
Another symptom of diabetes is unintended weight loss. If you are at a high risk of diabetes, you might suddenly lose a few kilograms of weight without hitting the gym or following a strict diet. In diabetes, your body is discharging excessive glucose. Therefore, the required amount of glucose is not used for energy stimulation. When your body does not get the required amount of energy from glucose, it starts to absorb energy by burning fats and muscles. As a result, you lose weight without trying.
Patches of dark skin
The symptoms of diabetes include skin discoloration and dark patches. Due to insulin resistance, your skin develops dark patches called acanthosis nigricans. These dark patches mostly form in the folds of your neck, genital areas, and underarm. The patches of dark skin can be raised with a velvety texture.
Conclusion
Diabetes can be life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated on time. In several cases, you might not experience any signs and symptoms of high blood sugar until your vital organs are damaged. Therefore, you should carefully look for signs of diabetes to start treatment as soon as possible.
FAQs
What are the symptoms of diabetes is high?
Some of the high sugar diabetes symptoms are:
- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination
- Excessive tiredness
- Skin discoloration or dark patches (acanthosis nigricans)
- Yeast infections
- Cuts and wounds that won’t heal
- Increased hunger
- Blurred vision
- Increased hunger
- Unexplained weight loss
- Tingling or numbness in your hands and feet
What increases your risk of diabetes?
The factors that can increase your risk of diabetes are:
- Excessive weight increases insulin resistance.
- Inactive or sedentary lifestyle
- Family history of diabetes
- Race or ethnicity
- Gestational diabetes (being diabetic during pregnancy)
- Being over 45 years of age
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol and triglycerides levels
What are the 4 risk factors for diabetes?
The 4 risk factors of diabetes are:
- Weight: You are at high risk for diabetes if you are overweight. Excess fatty tissues make your cells more insulin resistant. As a result, your blood glucose levels might become high.
- Inactivity: An inactive or sedentary lifestyle puts you at risk of high blood sugar. The more active you are, the more your body uses up the excess sugar to produce energy. Your cells also become insulin resistant with regular exercise.
- Age: Age can be a high-risk factor for diabetes because you become less active and lose muscle mass.
- Family history: You might be at high risk for diabetes if any of your parents or sibling had type 2 diabetes.
Why is age a risk factor for diabetes?
Age is a risk factor for diabetes because you become less active as you age. Moreover, you start to lose muscle mass. With age, your body becomes weak and more susceptible to diseases.
