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The dangers of type 2 diabetes cannot be overemphasized this is due to its nature because it doesn’t necessarily cause any obvious symptoms. It is known as ‘silent killer’ because it doesn’t show earlier signs. There are cases where doctors do not detect diabetes until long-term complications associated with the disease, develop. Some of the diseases are heart problems and eye diseases.
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It is advisable for one to go on regular checks in order to prevent type 2 diabetes. Prevention of this disease can be achieved through regular checking of blood sugar levels.
If you think you may have diabetes, seek treatment as soon as possible. The better you manage diabetes over time, the less like you are to develop serious complications.
The following signs, symptoms and conditions can be associated with type 2 diabetes
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Frequent Need to Urinate
Medically, this is known as polyuria and it is one of the early signs of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Frequent need to urinate occurs when the blood sugar levels is elevated above 160-180mg/dL therefore, glucose begins to leak into the urine.
Consequently, the amount of glucose in the urine increases, the kidney starts to work harder to eliminate more water in an attempt to dilute the urine. This is enough for a diabetic to feel the urge to urinate more often.
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Increased Thirst
This is not unconnected with the first symptom. As a diabetic patient urinates more often, he/she gets dehydrated faster, therefore sending signals to the brain to get more water. Drinking more water will aggravate the need to urinate more, creating a vicious cycle.
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Increased hunger
A diabetic gets hungrier because as we all know, glucose has calories, and since it is eliminated in the urine, the body therefore loses more calories and to compensate for this, a diabetic will feel hungry.
In addition, diabetes keeps glucose from reaching the cells it should be and providing energy, further aggravating the sensation of hunger.
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Vision Problems
Sometimes diabetics experience blurred vision, which occurs due to the high levels of glucose pull fluid from bodily tissues, including the lenses of the eyes.
Diabetes can damage the eyes, if not treated. This occurs as new blood vessels form and affect old ones in the retina. This can result into what is known as diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to total blindness.
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Weakness, Tingling and Numbness
Excess sugar in the blood can lead to nerve damage which can result in weakness, tingling, and numbness. This symptom is only possible if the diabetes has gone unnoticed or uncontrolled over a long period of time.
This can affect just a single nerve or many nerves (a condition known as diabetic polyneuropathy). For the former, an arm or leg may feel weak and for the latter, one may lose sensation in the hands and feet and feel tingling. Others may experience burning pain in the arms, hands, legs and feet. If the nerves of the skin are damaged, a person may not sense changes in pressure or temperature.
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Swollen, Tender Gums
Diabetes is bad that it weakens the body’s ability to fight germs, therefore increasing the risk of infections. Swollen, tender gums and various infections can all be symptoms of diabetes, due to this. In most cases, the gums pulls away from the teeth, the teeth may become lose and sores or pockets of pus may develop, in extreme cases.
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The problem could be critical if there was a gum infection prior to the diabetes. In addition to gum infections, a diabetic can also suffer from frequent infections in various parts of the body. For example, diabetic women tend to have more bladder and vaginal infections.
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Sores, Ulcers and Gangrene
High sugar levels can affect the blood vessels, which can lead to slow healing sores. Thereby, disturbing the body’s ability to heal. A diabetic may have injured themselves without feeling it, because the nerves in the skin can be affected. These injuries can progress into deeper lesions (skin ulcers), which can ultimately turn into gangrene.
Gangrene is a serious, sometimes life-threatening condition when the skin, muscles and other tissues die because the blood supply is lost. It is treated with surgery and amputation may be needed. Diabetics are far more likely than healthy people to have a foot or leg amputated because of deep infected ulcers and gangrene.
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Heart Attacks and Stroke
These are long-term complications and can only occur when diabetes is not properly managed. These life-threatening conditions develop because fatty material builds up and blocks major arteries that supply blood to the heart and brain.
As a result of this, the walls of small blood vessels are also damaged leading to the impairment of oxygen transfer to the tissues.
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Kidney Problems
Another long term complications is the kidney problem. This problem slowly develops over a period of years.
The blood vessels in the kidney start to malfunction as they become thicker, blood is not filtered properly, and protein leaks into the urine (a condition called proteinuria). These issues can lead to kidney failure.
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Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
According to research, about 35-75% of diabetic men are likely to have some degree of erectile dysfunction during their lifetime. In addition, diabetic men will develop ED 10-15 years earlier than men without diabetes.
For a man to have an erection, he needs healthy nerves, blood vessels, hormones, and the desire to have sex. As earlier discussed, diabetes can affect the nerves and blood vessels that control erection. Therefore, even if the diabetic man has normal sexual desire and healthy levels of testosterone, he may not be able to achieve an erection because of nerve and blood vessel damage. In addition, some drugs (i.e. prescribed heart diseases, depression, and anti-inflammatory) can also impair the ability to become erect.
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel manifests with weakness, numbness and tingling as well as pain in the thumb, index, and middle fingers, which typically worsens at night. This condition develops because glucose not used properly by the body, making connective tissues thicken or contract.
Dupuytren’s contracture is another condition more likely to affect diabetics. The affected tissues are under the skin of the palm. In this case a hand deformity develops over years as knots of tissue build up under the skin, causing a thick cord that pulls the fingers in a bent position.
SEE ALSO: The Top 20 Foods for Combating Diabetes
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