From year to year, the number of cases is increasing, according to statistics, at least three percent of the population suffer from the first or second category. The symptoms of diabetes are different in women and men. Women may not notice the developing ailment at all for a long period.
Complications are dangerous, including retinopathy, blindness from cataracts and many other unpleasant conditions, including a predisposition to heart attack, renal failure, or circulatory problems in the lower extremities.
Early detection of problems can significantly increase the quality of life and stop the development of the disease.
The content of the article
Sugar level and how to check
A prominent symptom of diabetes in both men and women is blood sugar. You can conduct a study on sugar in any medical institution to obtain specific data. Of course, it is impossible to establish a diagnosis with confidence from one analysis; it is important to remember the established norms. They depend on age. For a child and adolescent, this is from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l, for adults, that is, people from fourteen years old, 3.5-5.5 mmol / l. A strong excess of the normal level allows the doctor to suspect diabetes of one category or another. If this figure is from 7 mmol / l, only a specialist endocrinologist can clarify the diagnosis.
An important study will be to identify glucose tolerance. To accurately establish the diagnosis, a cycle of tests is carried out and an ophthalmologist’s consultation is necessary.
Signs of the disease
The symptoms of diabetes are all too easy to mistake for other illnesses. Signs in women are often hidden, in men they are less common. In addition, the symptoms of the first and second categories differ. The disease proceeds in different ways:
- Insulin-dependent diabetes involves a strict diet and regular insulin injections. Serious changes in the pancreas will no longer allow you to ever get rid of the need for injections;
- An insulin-independent course involves drug therapy. This course is typical for patients over the age of forty who have extra pounds. Treating diabetes requires a diet that will allow you to lose up to four pounds a month. If the measures do not help, then pills are prescribed.
First category
The gradual destruction of an organism can last for decades, and then literally in a few days go into a critical state. The patient falls into a coma, and the diagnosis is made in a clinical setting. Signs of first degree diabetes:
- Dry mucous membranes;
- Excessive desire to drink – the patient is able to consume up to five liters of water per day;
- Unpleasant chemical odor on exhalation;
- Insatiable appetite with overall weight loss
- Nocturia and polyuria;
- Any, even minor damage to the skin heals for an extremely long time;
- Fungal lesions occur, itchy skin appears, especially in the groin area;
- Panic attacks, headaches in women;
- Metallic taste in the mouth;
- Convulsions.
Diabetes symptoms in men appear after a serious infection or stressful condition for two weeks. This type requires regular insulin injections.
Second category
This type of diabetes does not develop so quickly and manifests itself in older patients. First of all, in both men and women, high fatigue and poor healing of small and large injuries become a symptom. The clarity of vision also suffers, and memory impairment develops. The disease proceeds secretly, the diagnosis is often made randomly.
In half of the sick, the ailment proceeds without characteristic signs.
Pay attention to the following diabetes symptoms:
- Increased need for fluid;
- Fungal infections, thrush in women;
- Polyuria and nocturia , frequent urge;
- Ulcerative lesions on the feet, knees;
- Numbness of the limbs;
- Pain in the limbs when moving;
- Overweight, and at a severe stage, its sharp loss;
- Deterioration of potency in men, failure of reproductive function;
- Hormonal surges in women;
- Hair loss on the limbs, growth on the face;
- Decreased immunity.
Problems with the renal system, strokes and heart attacks in men are an indicator of the presence of a disease. Weight gain, combined with vision problems, chronic fatigue, and insufficient healing of minor injuries, is a wake-up call that prompts the patient to have a blood glucose test. In women, obesity becomes a sign of diabetes, in men, the work of internal organs worsens, but the symptoms are individual and it is impossible to predict what complex of signs will appear.
Diabetes in a child
The difficulty in determining the diagnosis in a child is that the symptoms are significantly different. Pediatricians do not recognize the disease immediately, mistaking it for other problems. The first category of diabetes in children is not accompanied by overweight, manifests itself suddenly and vividly. Until recently, diabetes of the second type was not given to children, its signs are extra pounds, deterioration of health, fatigue.
Certain signs indicating the disease
Why certain symptoms of diabetes appear, and how to deal with them is an important point for determining the diagnosis and further treatment. Let’s talk in more detail about the symptoms of diabetes and the signs that appear in women and men.
Thirst and polyuria
The human body is a kind of chemical factory where processes are self-regulating. When the glucose level rises, the body receives a signal to flush the excess substance away. Therefore, there is a need for copious urination. The signal enters the gastrointestinal tract, and the sick person experiences an uncontrollable thirst and urge to urinate, including at night.
The combination of these signs is a marker that is important not to discount. If you are constantly thirsty, toilet trips have become more frequent, be sure to sign up for a blood test.
The smell of acetone
Glucose is not absorbed due to lack of insulin. The cellular system of the body begins to use fat reserves, which leads to the formation of acetoacetic acid, ketone bodies, acetone. Therefore, during exhalation, an unpleasant acetone odor appears, which is defined by many as “chemical”. The smell of acetone is not always a sign of a harmful condition. It is important to control the acidity level of the blood.
Ketoacidosis
The consequence of the previous symptom is a sharp increase in the level of ketone bodies. If insulin is not injected, then the acidity of the blood changes. A decrease or increase in the acidity index leads to:
- severe drowsiness
- loss of appetite
- bouts of nausea
- painful sensations.
This is how ketoacidosis manifests itself . To an extreme degree, the patient falls into a coma, which results in disability. Up to 15% of cases are fatal.
Excessive appetite
The cellular system lacks nutrients, since the available insulin is not enough to break down sugars. The body gives a signal that the brain decodes as hunger. Despite the amount of food received, the appetite is not reduced. You want to eat until insulin starts working or until the cells of the body begin to use fat reserves, which leads to ketoacidosis .
Fungus, itching and thrush
Fungi of various types love certain conditions – humidity, heat, excess sugars, thanks to which they multiply quickly. When the level of sugar in the blood increases, the body seeks to remove it in the possible ways – through urine, sweat. The skin is uncomfortable, therefore itching appears. Favorable conditions – increased sweating, which contains a lot of glucose – allows the fungal infection to spread.
As soon as the amount of sugar in the blood levels out, the manifestations of thrush and other fungal infections are sharply reduced.
Skin lesions heal poorly
Excessive amounts of glucose are toxic to the vascular walls. Tissue regeneration is a complex process that includes many nuances, for example, the division of healthy skin cells. The toxic effect of excess sugar slows down the process, which affects the speed of healing of even minor injuries. The spread of infections is also becoming a problem. Small wounds fester easily and turn into a significant problem.
The consequences of diabetes
It is extremely important to identify the disease and start treatment on time, otherwise it is difficult to avoid unpleasant consequences:
- Coma, which occurs with insulin-dependent diabetes and can lead to death;
- Great swelling and heart failure ;
- The appearance of trophic ulcers. It often manifests itself in patients who have been suffering from an ailment for a long time;
- Gangrene. In this case, only limb amputation can help.
Unfortunately, medicine has not yet found ways to completely cure diabetes mellitus, however, today patients can control their own condition and live a full life. If you notice any of the listed symptoms, do not postpone a visit to a specialist and be sure to have a blood test. The sooner diabetes is diagnosed, the easier it is to build a healthy lifestyle that will least alter your daily routine.