9 Early Signs Of Diabetes
Taking medications after a certain age is the new norm in our generation. It has become almost imperative that after a certain age you are bound to get affected by a disease, we famously refer as, “Lifestyle Diseases”.
The first question that arises in the minds of masses is this:
“Why is our generation getting affected by this and why did the previous generations did not?”
The answer is very simple.
Studies have shown that drastic changes in lifestyle which include less physical activity, consumption of highly processed foods, lack of sleep, stressful life due to excessive work/study load, smoking, etc. are reasons behind the increase in number of Lifestyle Diseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, strokes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), arthritis, and mental health issues.
These are illnesses which eventually develop and are hence also called Chronic Illnesses.
Today our main focus is going to be on the topic of “Diabetes”.
First of all let’s try to understand the mechanism by which a person develops Diabetes. One thing that majority of us know is, Diabetes causes High blood sugar levels.
There are two ways by which this happens. One is lack of Insulin. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the Islet cells of pancreas. It increases the uptake of glucose by body cells. Lesser the insulin, lesser the glucose absorbed by the cells which in turn results in an increase in glucose levels in blood. This is called Type 1 Diabetes or Insulin Dependant Diabetes Mellitus(IDDM), in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.
What can the second one be? It is decreased sensitivity of cells to insulin. Basically cells are not able to recognize Insulin due to reduced sensitivity. This does not allow Glucose to enter the cells which in turn causes the blood glucose levels to increase. This is called Type 2 Diabetes or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus(NIDDM).
The causes of Type 2 Diabetes are more related to the Lifestyle of an individual and is going to be our main focus in this article. Causes for Type 1 Diabetes mainly include viral diseases, autoimmune diseases which destroy the cells (Beta cells of Islets of Langerhans) that produce Insulin.
Let’s take a look at the early signs of Diabetes, a very important topic considering the high rise in people getting infected with this chronic disease.
1) Frequent Urination: When the blood sugar level increases, your kidneys try to bring it down to normal level by increasing it’s excretion hence causing you to go and visit the washroom frequently.
2) Dehydration: This is somewhat related to the previous point. More the fluid loss, more the dehydration which then causes dry mouth and increased thirst.
3) Excessive weight loss: Since the cells are not able to utilize Glucose which is the primary source of energy and even excessive fluid loss contributes to the loss of calories which causes weight loss.
4) Excessive Hunger: Since cells are not receiving Glucose due to insulin resistance the Pancreas produces increased Insulin to compensate for it which in turn sends signals to the brain activating the hunger center.
5) Fatigue: This is quite obvious because if the cells are not going to get their primary substrate they won’t be able to produce energy. Without energy your muscle fibers won’t be able to move by even a millimeter.
6) Blurred Vision: An excess of sugar can damage the small blood vessels of the eye which causes blurred vision.
7) Susceptibility to Infections: High Sugar(Glucose) level provides nutrition to bacteria and yeast which helps them multiply even quickly and hence getting recurrent infections is a cautious sign to get your sugar levels checked.
8) Skin discoloration: Insulin resistance leads to the development of dark patches, particularly found in the folds of the neck, underarm area, or groin. This darkened area can also appear as skin folds and are velvety in texture.
9) Numbness and tickling sensations: Prolonged high blood sugar levels can lead to diabetic neuropathy where the nerve endings are not able to send sensory signals and it can worsen over time and lead to more serious complications if a person does not get treatment for their diabetes.
I know you all might be thinking about this,
"How do we avoid Type 2 Diabetes since it’s very difficult to find a way out of this lifestyle?”
To be honest, if you think rationally it’s quite simple. A 30 minute exercise, be it in any form, swimming, walking, cycling has proved to be factors that help decrease the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by a significant margin.
No matter how much busy we are with our lives, 30 minutes of effort everyday consistently is not only going to help us resist chronic illnesses but also help us focus on our work and studies.
Go around your locality and find out how many people who exercise daily suffer from Type 2 Diabetes.
I bet you'll rarely find any.
The solution is simple. We are making it complicated.
Rayyan is a 2nd year undergrad pursuing MBBS from HBTMC, Mumbai. He is an avid writer and almost always finds himself on the other side of the screen typing away or tweeting. Deeply passionate about football, academia, medicine and teaching, not necessarily in the same order.
