Diabetes – Symptoms Indicating Diabetes
The symptoms indicative of diabetes overlap with those of other ailments. Hence it is very difficult to zero down to diabetes by looking at the symptoms alone. The difficulty gets compounded when the symptoms keep appearing and disappearing. Yet, over the years, certain symptoms have come to be identified with diabetes with reasonable accuracy.
One definate indicator of diabetes is frequent and excessive urination. The body causes this to cleanse the blood of excess glucose. Excess glucose gets left in the blood because of inadequate or absence of insulin to help the cells absorb glucose, as in Type 1 diabetes. Inability to use insulin in the body is as in Type 2 diabetes.
Glucose in excess in the blood is harmful to the body. The immune system of the body gets worked up and tries to pass out this excess through urine. Kidneys have to work overtime to get this done. When they are not able to process, this excess is routed out through other channels of metabolic wastes.
Another indicator of the presence of diabetes is insatiable thirst. The need for more water is to compensate for the fluids lost by way of urination. Urination is pre-empted by excess water intake. This goes on cyclically.
Chronic weariness which does not find circumstantial explanation could be attributed to diabetes. Glucose is what provides energy to the cells to perform their functions. When glucose does not reach the cells, the cells are deprived of energy and hence become lax and lag behind in performance. The afflicted thus feels weary.
The incidence of insulin and glucose in the body causing diabetes is just one part of the saga. There are ailments which get triggered off by diabetes. These ailments turn up as symptoms which indirectly point out the presence of diabetes.
Presbyopia is a geriatric vision related ailment wherein the afflicted loses elasticity in the eye lenses. The condition results in blurry vision and inability to focus. This could even be caused by diabetes.
The tissues and the lenses in the eyes get less fluid when the level of glucose is high in the blood. The eyes are not able to focus. Further down, the condition aggravates enough to form new retinal vessels of blood. Under these circumstances, the eyes lose vision, or one encounters disturbed vision. Often one sees flashing light, stars and halo around the lights in the room.
Wounds in the body not healing in time, is another indication of presence of diabetes. Diabetes makes the immune system slow or unable to tackle infections. At times the portion of the body with the wound has to be amputated.
The presence of these symptoms by themselves, do not indicate diabetes. But the presence of these symptoms should prompt one to have a test for diabetes done with urgency. Procrastination could lead to losing an arm or a leg or an eye. A simple blood test and urine test is all that needs to be done to verify the presence or otherwise of the disease.
