Looking at Diabetic Symptoms

Diabetes is notoriously hard to identify in the early stages. It is thought that many millions of people throughout the world have diabetes but are totally unaware of the condition.

Any small changes in the body can be put down to something else. For example a slow deterioration in eyesight could be put down to aging or eyestrain from staring at a computer all day. However this could be a symptom of diabetes. 

So what are common symptoms?

Here are a few of the major diabetic symptoms as outlined by the American Diabetes Association (ADA):

frequent urination (polyuria), if sugar can't be removed from the blood normally then the body will try to remove it by urination,

Excessive urination can lead to dehydration and thirst (polydipsia),

Extreme hunger,

unusual weight loss

Other symptoms that might occur include :

increased fatigue,

irritability ,

poor or blurry vision,

dry mouth,

cuts and bruises taking longer to heal

unusually dry and itchy skin

When looking at those symptoms, it is easy to see why detection of the onset of diabetes is often missed. Many of those diabetic symptoms can be attributed to another condition: stress can cause irritability, depression can cause increased fatigue and unusual weight loss. Cuts and bruises taking longer to heal would often go unnoticed.

The best way to determine the onset of diabetes is to be checked out by a doctor on a regular basis. Most people do not have a regular check up and only visit the doctor when they are sick so this is not really ideal. Another method is to get an eyetest. It is advised that you get your eyes checked every year. This can be done cheaply, and in some cases,  will be paid by your employer. Most optometrists can check for diabetes by looking at the condition of the retina. This can be the first signal that things are not right and they can then suggest a visit to the doctor for a more thorough examination.

Ultimately, you need the doctor to diagnose your condition by a complete analysis of your blood. This will give the most conclusive proof on whether you are diabetic or may be diabetic in the future.

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