Diabetes Symptoms

Diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a kind of metabolic disease, which is characterized by high levels of sugar in the blood, which mostly occurs due to the insufficient secretion of insulin, or its action or both. A study conducted by the American Diabetes Association, it is estimated that America alone is home to more than 20 million diabetics, which include adults as well as children.

It is basically of two types, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. However, it doesn't matter whether you are suffering from type 1 or type 2 diabetes; the symptoms of both these types of diabetes are almost the same. When you develop either type of diabetes there is an excess level of sugar in your blood and anything in excess in our bodies is always harmful.

When you are suffering from type 1 diabetes, then your insulin producing cells, also known as beta cells, are damaged. This is manly because these cells no more produce the correct amount of insulin to balance the high levels of sugar in the blood. The same thing occurs in type 2 diabetes, except that here the damage is more to your cells and hence even if your body secretes adequate amount of insulin, it will not be utilized in an effective way thereby leading to increased levels of blood sugar levels, which in turn lead to diabetes mellitus.

An important thing to note is diagnosis of diabetes is a bit difficult because most of the diabetes symptoms begin gradually and appear to be normal. Here, we are going to take a look on the various diabetes symptoms, which a person might experience.

Diabetes is a condition wherein the cells of the human body are unable to breakdown glucose in the blood properly. In response to this, the body gets rid of the excess glucose through urination and hence frequent urination is one of the most common symptoms of diabetes. In addition with frequent urination a person also experiences excessive hunger, thirst and weight loss.

When there is an excess level of glucose in the blood due to diabetes, the cells due to deprivation of glucose starve for energy. This starving of cells leads a person to tiredness and a fatigued body and also makes him/her excessively hungry.

Weight loss is also one of the most common diabetes symptoms. A person suffering from diabetes, despite having an increased appetite loses weight because the cells don't receive the adequate nutrition they normally require. In addition, the other sources of energy such as calories and glucose are all eliminated from the body in the form of urine rather being getting absorbed into the body and provide energy.

Dry mouth, blurry vision, impotency, genital infections, unexplained pains and aches, urinary tract infections, dry or itchy skin sores that take long time to heal are also some of the major diabetes symptoms which a person having diabetes might notice. As time passes, the high blood sugar levels also cause damage to vital organs such as kidney, eyes, nerves and heart.

A person suffering from diabetes also experiences tingling sensations around different parts of the body. Diabetes affects the blood glucose levels and hence when the blood travels all around the body the other organs are also affected including the nerves. This damage of nerves leads to a tingling sensation in the person in the various parts of the body. This diabetes symptom is mostly experienced by people in the later stages of diabetes.

The type 1 diabetes symptoms come on more rapidly unlike type 2 diabetes, which takes time to appear. Some of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes include excessive thirst, fatigue and frequent urination. As the symptoms of type 2 diabetes appear in a gradual manner the medical community prompts people especially above the age of 45 years to undergo routine testing for diabetes.

These were some of the common diabetes symptoms, which a person might observe or experience. If you are experiencing any of these diabetes symptoms then it is advisable that you visit your family doctor and chalk out plans that would help you to control your diabetes.