Warning Signs and Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

According to the International Diabetes Federation, 1 in every 2 adults with diabetes is undiagnosed. This means there are around 232 million people, all over the world, who are living with diabetes, do not know about it.Furthermore, Harvard Health Publishing stated that over 80% of people with prediabetes are not aware of it.

This when coupled with the fact that diabetes is a progressive disease and if it remains undiagnosed, significantly increases the risks for severe health complications, makes the disease even more threatening. This is why healthcare experts regard the early detection of diabetes as the key to effective blood sugar management, which then enables patients to live healthy lives.

Since type 2 is the most prevalent type of diabetes, here, we are highlighting some of the early warning signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes to help you figure out if you should get yourself checked.

8 Common Warning Signs and Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

Some of the most common signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:

1. Increased Hunger and Thirst

Feeling hungry or thirsty too often and too intensely are some of the most common early warning signs of type 2 diabetes.

Increased hunger, also known as polyphagia, is the result of the malfunctioning of the metabolic system. In a healthy body, the food is broken down into glucose to be used as fuel. But, since people with diabetes have insulin resistance, their body cells are unable to absorb glucose from the blood. This causes energy drain leaving the body to be in need of fuel, which in turn causes hunger.

Increased thirst, on the other hand, is the result of the buildup of sugar in the blood. When the concentration of sugar in the blood increases, the kidneys work more to bring it back to normal. This process entails pulling out fluids from the body tissues in order to dilute the blood, leaving the person dehydrated and thirsty as a result.

In addition to diluting the blood, the kidneys also start making more urine, in response to increased glucose concentration in the blood, to remove the excess sugar from the body. This leads to frequent urination, which ultimately makes the person thirsty.

2. Frequent Urination

Increased thirst and frequent urination are inter-related. When you drink more water, you would want to urinate more, which in turn makes your thirsty again.

Another factor that causes diabetic and prediabetic patients to experience a frequent need to urinate is due to the kidneys trying to remove excess sugar from the body by filtering it out of the blood and passing it out of the body through urine.

Feeling the need to urinate often during the night is another warning sign that you may have developed type 2 diabetes.

3. Dry Mouth

Since increased urination flushes out the fluids from your body, the resulting dehydration can cause dry mouth. This is why diabetic patients are told to keep themselves hydrated.

4. Unusual Fatigue

Insulin plays a key role in the process of absorption of glucose by the cells. Type 2 diabetes prevents this process by making the cells resistant to insulin.

For those who do not know, glucose is the fuel our body runs on. When it is not available, cells become energy-deprived, causing weakness and unusual fatigue.

5. Numbness, Tingling or Pain In Hands and/or Feet

Diabetic patients often complain of numbness, a sensation of tingling, or pain in their hands and/or feet. This happens due to nerve damage caused by constant high blood sugar levels and is known as diabetic neuropathy.

Diabetic neuropathy is a progressive condition and often causes severe health complications due to undiagnosed diabetes.

While the nerve damage can occur anywhere throughout the body, it is most common in legs and feet, which is why diabetic patients have to take extra care of their feet.

If you are experiencing any sensation or numbness in your hands or feet, it is highly likely that you have been living with undiagnosed diabetes for years because the condition develops slowly. 

6. Slow Healing Of Wounds

There are a number of factors that significantly reduce the body’s natural ability to heal wounds and cuts. These include consistently high blood glucose levels, neuropathy (nerve damage), poor blood circulation due to narrowing and damaging of blood vessels, and immune system malfunction.

As a result, even small cuts and wounds that normally get healed in a few days can take weeks or sometimes even months to heal.

The slowed healing process of wounds also puts diabetic patients on a further increased risk of developing infections (which is already high for them).

7. Blurred Vision

Blurred vision is another sign that you have been living with this silent disease for a long time.

The condition occurs because of damage to the blood vessels in the eyes and damage to the blood vessels occurs when your blood sugar level remains consistently high for a considerable period of time.

Depending on the intensity of the damage, the blurry vision can be temporary, episodic, or permanent. However, if diabetes remains undiagnosed and untreated, the damage can eventually become so severe that it could lead to blindness.

Another factor that leads to blurred vision is the changing fluid levels in the body, which can cause the lenses of the eyes to swell up, causing blurriness and difficulty in focusing.

8. Yeast Infections

The presence of excess sugar in the blood and urine makes people with type 2 diabetes prone to developing yeast infections in different parts of the body (yeast feeds on glucose). These may include mouth, armpits, between toes and fingers, and genital areas.

People with type 2 diabetes have twice the risk of developing urinary tract infections than people without diabetes.

Yeast infections generally cause itchiness, but can also cause redness, soreness, and burning.

These are some of the most common signs and symptoms that people with type 2 diabetes experience. However, you may not necessarily experience all of them. Therefore, it is recommended to get yourself checked for diabetes even if you experience one or two of these warning signs. To get more information about the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, and management of diabetes, download our free eBook now!

References

https://diabetesatlas.org/en/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/healthy-lifestyle-can-prevent-diabetes-and-even-reverse-it-2018090514698
https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/diabetes-national-plan-action/importance-early-diabetes-detection
https://diabetesatlas.org/en/sections/worldwide-toll-of-diabetes.html
http://tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer/?pagename=TC_aboutdiabetes
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/body/blood-vessels.html
https://www.renalandurologynews.com/home/news/urology/urinary-tract-infections-uti/urinary-tract-infections-more-common-in-diabetics/
https://advantagecaredtc.org/signs-of-type-2-diabetes/
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/diabetes-symptoms
https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/diabetes-national-plan-action/importance-early-diabetes-detection
https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/symptoms/warning-signs-of-type-2-diabetes/
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https://www.diabetes.co.uk/body/blood-vessels.html