Aside from cardiovascular disease, another condition that medical professionals dub the “silent killer” is diabetes. Considering the rise in type 2 diabetes cases in recent years, it is crucial to know the early signs and symptoms of the disease before it gets worse.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition wherein the body’s ability to regulate and use sugar as fuel is impaired. This results in having too much sugar circulating in the bloodstream, leading to more serious disorders, according to Mayo Clinic.
Technically speaking, this disease causes the body not to make enough of the hormone insulin, which is responsible for allowing glucose to enter cells and provide them with energy. About 90% of diabetes cases account for type 2, making it the most common among the different diabetes types.
WebMD has listed the early warning signs to tell if one has type 2 diabetes. It is important to know them since 1 in 4 people have the condition without knowing that they have it.
Feeling thirsty most of the time
This is one of the tell-tale signs of type 2 diabetes since the kidneys get overworked when sugar builds up in the blood. Fluids from the tissues are pulled by the kidneys, making one feel dehydrated and thirsty frequently.
Feeling hungry even after eating
Since glucose, which serves as the food and fuel source of cells, could not enter the cells, the body feels hungry most of the time. Patients even feel the urge to eat even after eating a meal.
Frequent urination
As mentioned earlier, the kidneys work overtime to compensate for the disorder. To get rid of the extra sugar in the bloodstream, the body will have to pee more often.
Drying of mouth
Since patients pee a lot and get dehydrated, there is a tendency for the moisture from the mouth to drain as well.
Fatigue or lack of energy
The body feels weak and tired because it lacks the energy from food since glucose could not enter the cells. This is also an effect of dehydration.
Other early signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes include sudden and unexplained weight loss, headaches, blurry vision, red and swollen gums, tingling of hands and feet, loss of consciousness and infections and wounds that don’t heal.
In December, a study published in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care indicated that the number of teens with type 2 diabetes in the country could rise by nearly 700% by 2060.
Researchers said the rising rates of childhood obesity and diabetes in young pregnant women would mostly constitute the increase in cases in the coming years.