Type 2 diabetes & signs

Type 2 diabetes & signs

Diabetes type 2 is a chronic disease affecting the body’s method of metabolizing sugar (glucose)—an essential source of energy. For type 2 diabetes, the body will behave in two ways. First, it will resist insulin–the hormone that controls sugar movement through your cells. Secondly, it may not produce adequate insulin to stabilize levels of glucose.

Type 2 diabetes is synonymous with adults over 40 years. However, more children are now diagnosed, possibly due to a rise in obesity in infancy. There is no cure for type 2 diabetes, but weight loss, diet and exercise will help with disease control. When you do not have enough nutrition and exercise to regulate your blood sugar properly, you may need insulin therapy or other medications. Possible symptoms include:

Blurry vision

Excess blood sugar can cause blurry vision and damage small blood vessels in the eye. Lens ‘ ability to bend will be altered in a high-sugar environment, like unregulated type 2 diabetes. The eye’s muscles will work harder to focus, even if the lens is not damaged.

This blurred vision can happen in one eye or both and can be on and off. If you have diabetes, you can have severe blood vessel damage, which can potentially lead to permanent vision loss.

Slow healing of cuts and wounds

High blood sugar levels may cause nerve and blood vessel damage and may affect the circulation of the blood. Blood vessel damage from excessive glucose in the veins contributes to limited blood flow. Such restricted flow may reduce healing time for abrasions, bruises, wounds, skin rash and inflammations. This slow rate of healing is due to the lack of blood circulation in the limbs in type 2 diabetics. Higher blood sugars provide the bacteria with an excellent environment to grow. The risk of infection may also be enhanced by slow wound healing.

Tingling, numbness, or pain in the hands or feet

Lengthy exposure to high blood sugar will harm the whole individual’s nerve system — a disease that is called neuropathy. Many people may not have any injury signs, while others may experience extreme numbness or pain. Experts claim that neuropathy starts typically in the feet and goes up. It is common in people who have had diabetes for 25 years or more but can also occur in people with pre-diabetes. Some studies show that almost half of unexplained peripheral neuropathy is due to pre-diabetes or diabetes.

Feeling very tired

Type 2 diabetes can make someone feel tired. This exhaustion is caused by the pancreas producing too little insulin, or the body cannot use it correctly because there is no glucose which is the primary energy source in the cells.

High levels of blood sugar also often induce urination, immune suppression and a general feeling of exhaustion. This overall distress from other symptoms, coupled with exhausting effects of excess glucose elimination from the body would suck up a great deal of energy.

Increased thirst

Increased blood glucose produces a snowball effect of all kinds on the body. High blood sugar results in increased urine production and urination. Often the excess sugar needs to be removed from the blood. This translates to losing plenty of fluids and leads to dehydration. As a result, your mouth becomes dry, and you feel thirstier. You might have Type 2 Diabetes if you find that you’re drinking more water than average, or your mouth often feels dry, and you get thirsty more often.

Frequent urination

Excess glucose in the blood prompts the kidneys to respond by flushing it into the urine. This leads to more urine production, a stronger urge to urinate and an increased risk of urinary tract infections. Individuals with type 2 diabetes can contract UTI twice as much as people who don’t have the illness. Diabetic women risk getting UTIs than men.

If you have to go to the toilet more often than ever— maybe every few hours every night to urinate — and when you go, you tend to produce more urine. Pay attention to such behaviour and contact your doctor for a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.