Early detection of diabetes mellitus in patients plays a significant role in the prognosis of the disease, severity and timing of complications. Many patients, noticing periodic numbness in the arms or legs, do not even realize that these may be early signs. In addition, it is important to monitor the condition of the skin, the appearance and healing of small wounds and rashes, as well as body weight, appetite and thirst.
It is important to recognize the early signs of diabetes
On average, 1 in 5 patients is already ill diabetes, it has not yet been identified, although changes in metabolic processes are already significant, and the damage caused by high blood glucose levels can be significant. In addition, some patients, although not yet diabetic, have impaired glucose tolerance, which is also called pre-diabetes. This means that their blood sugar is high, but not high enough to classify it as type 2 diabetes, the most common type of disease.
Type 2 diabetes is associated with obesity and overweight. And the spread of diabetes is growing rapidly due to the fact that more and more people are suffering from obesity, which many experts call the “epidemic”.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body, for various, often unknown reasons, attacks its own pancreatic cells, which are responsible for producing insulin. The result is an acute shortage of the hormone, and a person is forced to replace this deficiency with insulin injections or a pump for the rest of his life.
Early signs of the disease
According to experts, it is important to recognize the early signs of diabetes of any type. “If a patient has any type of disease but is unaware of their condition, there is a high probability that high blood sugar will damage the walls of blood vessels and put the patient at risk for complications related to diabetes in the future.
Early signs of the disease include:
- Numbness in the arms and legs;
- Frequent urination;
- Strong thirst;
- Weight gain or sudden weight loss;
- Violation of skin trophism, prolonged wound healing;
- Vision problems, decreased acuity;
- Serious lesions in the mouth;
- Fatigue after eating.
Any manifestations of the disease, manifested individually or in various combinations, require immediate medical attention and active treatment.
Numbness in the arms and legs
According to endocrinologists, high blood sugar associated with the development of this dangerous disease can lead to significant damage to blood vessels around the nerves. This type of injury, in turn, can cause numbness and tingling, usually in the legs. This over time forms serious damage to the skin and underlying tissues, threatening gangrene. Some people experience numbness in both the legs and arms (most often numbness of the hands or fingers).
Frequent urination and increased thirst
One of the first signs of diabetes is frequent urination. This is due to the fact that the body’s natural mechanisms are involved hyperglycemia. This is due to attempts to remove excess glucose. The need to urinate frequently, also known as polyuria, can be caused by type 1 and type 2 diabetes. If blood sugar rises and it cannot be disposed of by tissues, glucose-saturated blood enters the kidneys, and its excess is filtered into the urine, causing increased urination.
Accordingly, if a person has to urinate more often, he loses a large amount of water, dehydration occurs, because of which he will suffer greatly from thirst. For this reason, painful thirst, which forces you to drink much more water, is an early sign of diabetes.
Fluctuations in body weight
Increased levels of resistance (insensitivity) to insulin may be a sign of the disease at an early stage. When the body’s insulin resistance increases, the body thinks it needs to store fat. The mechanism of creation of fat from carbohydrates is started, it is actively stored in adipocytes that leads to increase in body weight. But the more cells are filled with fat and stretched, the more body weight gains, the more insulin receptors are deformed, and the condition progresses.
With type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin. But it is in dire need of insulin for proper fat metabolism, proteins and carbohydrates. According to doctors, when insulin is not enough to store these energy nutrients, then the body begins to spend them, receiving energy from its own resources. That is why body weight begins to decline sharply, which may be one of the early signs of the disease.
Disorders of skin trophism, poor wound healing
High blood sugar can jeopardize activity immune system, which, in turn, can damage the body’s ability to tolerate infections and heal wounds on the skin. When the blood sugar level exceeds 9.9 mmol / l, the immune system copes with infections, including skin lesions, much worse. In addition, the skin additionally suffers from a lack of oxygen and nutrition (trophic disorders), which is associated with damage to capillaries and nerve endings. In diabetics, the skin is prone to dryness, the development of trophic ulcers and fungal infections.
Vision problems
Blurred vision in front of the eyes is a common early sign of diabetes. This is because high blood sugar causes a violation of the transparency of the lens of the eye and changes the ability to fully transmit light rays. Sometimes this process develops very quickly, and such changes in vision are dangerous, it is important to conduct a comprehensive eye examination. It is extremely important to control your blood sugar to maintain clear vision.
Oral problems
Gum that bleeds when a person brushes their teeth or flossing, bad breath, even after brushing, and bad teeth can be early signs of diabetes. High levels of glucose in saliva can impair the growth of plaque and bacteria, there are signs of inflammation, persistent stomatitis and frequent thrush. This can cause tooth decay and gum disease.
Fatigue after eating
Foods rich in carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, potatoes or sweets, tend to raise blood sugar levels, which in turn can cause an unusual feeling of fatigue. It intensifies after eating.
