SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Diabetes is a lifetime disease caused by an inability of the pancreas to make enough insulin or use it properly. The body needs insulin to help glucose—a form of sugar the body uses for energy—to enter cells. The body makes glucose from food. When people have diabetes, glucose in the bloodstream reaches above-normal levels and must be controlled.
There are two main types of diabetes: click here to learn more.
Type 1 diabetes usually occurs during childhood or adolescence. It results from the body’s failure to produce insulin—a hormone that allows body cells to use glucose for energy. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to stay alive.Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease. Often type 2 diabetes can be controlled through weight loss, improved nutrition and exercise, but many people may also need oral medications and/or insulin to control their diabetes.
Type 1 symptoms The onset of insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes is usually dramatic and impossible to ignore. Symptoms include:
- Frequent urination.
- Unusual thirst.
- Extreme, constant hunger.
- Unusual weight loss.
- Extreme fatigue.
- Severe headaches.
- Blurred vision.
- Irritability.
Type 2 symptoms The signs of type 2 diabetes are often subtle. Symptoms include any of the symptoms listed for type 1 diabetes and:
- Cuts/bruises that heal slowly.
- Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.
- Recurring infections of the skin, gums or bladder.
If you have any of these signs or symptoms on a regular basis, talk to your doctor about a diabetes test.
Who is at risk for diabetes? The American Diabetes Association recommends diabetes screening for those who have a high risk of type 2 diabetes:- People with a family history of diabetes. Having a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes increases your risk.
- People from certain ethnic groups. Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent among African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.
- People who are overweight. A person who is 20 percent overweight is twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as a person of normal weight.
- People older than 45. Type 2 diabetes frequently develops later in life.
- Women who have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy.