Seven Signs of Diabetes

The American Psychological Association has announced that today's youth experience significantly more stress than their peers did in previous decades. Given that stress is considered one of the main causes of diabetes (type 2), doctors say that warning signs of this disease should be identified from a young age. According to Elite Daily, improper identification of the disease in youth is common, and until a serious problem arises, young individuals neither visit doctors nor do doctors take some symptoms seriously. In patients with high blood sugar, the ability to produce insulin diminishes, or their bodies become resistant to insulin, resulting in a loss of its natural effectiveness. But what are the warning signs of type 2 diabetes? Doctors have identified seven main symptoms for this disease, and if any of them persist, a blood sugar test should be requested. 1. Frequent urination: Excessive urination occurs because the kidneys are forced to excrete excess sugar from the body. The kidneys eliminate this extra sugar along with liquid materials from the body. 2. Constant thirst: The increase in blood glucose levels and, consequently, frequent urination leads to significant water loss, making the individual excessively thirsty. According to Prevention website, when these first two factors (i.e., frequent urination and constant thirst) suddenly appear together, a doctor should be consulted. 3. Excessive fatigue: The body obtains the necessary energy for movement and activity from glucose metabolism. In addition to the impact of dehydration, all metabolic activities are affected and slowed down, leading to lethargy and constant fatigue in individuals with diabetes. 4. Vision problems: Dehydration negatively affects the vision of individuals with diabetes. This overall dehydration reduces the lubricating fluid of the eye lens, leading to vision and concentration issues. In severe cases, this dehydration can cause rupture of the retinal blood vessels and blindness. 5. Prolonged healing time for wounds, cuts, and infections: It is believed that the occurrence of persistent infections in diabetes patients reduces the body's immune system's ability and the capacity to regenerate damaged cells. High blood sugar continuously stresses the body's cells. 6. Weight loss without changes in eating habits or activity and severe hunger: The absorption of sugar by the body's cells, which is impaired due to diabetes, causes the individual to always feel hungry. On the other hand, constant loss of water and calories from the body means that absorbed calories do not remain in the body for long. Therefore, individuals with diabetes are always hungry but do not necessarily gain weight; rather, they may face weight loss. 7. Excessive numbness and tingling of body limbs: Since diabetes directly affects the body's circulatory system, it causes serious damage to the body's nervous system. These damages lead to numbness in the hands and feet. This is why some individuals with diabetes are forced to amputate limbs.