Diabetes and Symptom

WHAT IS DIABETES?

What happens when you have diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

This is because your pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin, or not enough insulin, to help glucose enter your body’s cells – or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance).

• Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose to enter the body’s cells, where it is used as fuel for energy so we can work, play and generally live our lives. It is vital for life.
• Glucose comes from digesting carbohydrate and is also produced by the liver. 
• If you have diabetes, your body cannot make proper use of this glucose so it builds up in the blood and can’t be used as fuel.
• There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes develops when glucose can’t enter the body’s cells to be used as fuel. This happens when either:

• There is no insulin to unlock the cells (Type 1)
• There is not enough insulin or the insulin is there but not 
  working properly (Type 2).

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES?

Are you worried that you, your child or someone you know, may have diabetes? Having some of the signs of diabetes doesn’t mean you definitely have the condition, but you should always contact your GP, just to make sure.

The common symptoms of diabetes

• Going to the toilet a lot, especially at night.
• Being really thirsty.
• Feeling more tired than usual.
• Losing weight without trying to.
• Genital itching or thrush.
• Cuts and wounds take longer to heal.
• Blurred vision.

Why does diabetes create these symptoms?

These symptoms occur because some or all of the glucose stays in the blood, and isn’t being used as fuel for energy. The body tries to reduce blood glucose levels by flushing the excess glucose out of the body in the urine

What happens if you ignore the signs of diabetes?

It’s hard to ignore the signs of Type 1 diabetes because symptoms can often appear quite quickly. But leaving it untreated can lead to serious health problems, includingdiabetic ketoacidosis, which can result in a potentially fatal coma.

Type 2 diabetes can be easier to miss as it develops more slowly, especially in the early stages when it can be harder to spot the symptoms. But untreated diabetes affects many major organs, including your heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys. Being diagnosed early and controlling your blood sugar levels can help prevent these complications, so check your Risk Score here.