Diabetes can lead to a wide range of unfortunate symptoms, with varying degrees of severity. Sufferers of the condition can experience, discomfort, pain, debilitation and more serious problems.
Many of the more minor symptoms manifest themselves very early on, before diabetes is diagnosed. These can include increased hunger or thirst, excessive visits to the loo, fatigue and weight loss, blurred vision, and a delay in the healing of minor wounds.
If such symptoms develop swiftly, such as over a period of weeks, then this is usually an indication that the patient is suffering from Type 1 diabetes - where their body fails to produce a sufficient amount of insulin - and such symptoms come on particularly rapidly in the case of children.
Naturally, despite the distressing nature of the swift onset of symptoms, this also means that the condition can be diagnosed early on, and correct treatments can be prescribed, which greatly reduces the chance of developing more serious symptoms later on.
With the more serious form of Type 2 diabetes, the symptoms take much longer to develop - often not showing up for years - and because this often happens in later life, many people dismiss them as just the normal aches and pains associated with the aging process. This can, of course, mean that the condition is not diagnosed until much later, when the risks are much greater and the treatment more difficult - and this is why medical experts stress that if an individual believes they are experiencing any of these symptoms it is imperative that they see a doctor as soon as possible and ask them for a diabetes test, which measures the concentration of glucose in the blood.
These are just the symptoms which indicate the presence of diabetes, however. Once the condition is officially diagnosed, then a sufferer has to be careful not to provoke the serious complications associated with diabetes, such as a hypoglycemic attack. This occurs when blood sugar levels fall dangerously low and ranges in severity from dizziness or faint spells, to unconsciousness - and in rare cases can even lead to severe organ damage or death.
Type 1 diabetes sufferers are the most prone to attacks of hypoglycemia, due to the need to regularly take full doses of insulin. If these are missed then blood sugar levels can become dangerously low. An attack can also occur if the sufferer has been exercising hard, failing to eat properly during the day, or drinking large amounts of alcohol.
In most cases, quickly eating a chocolate bar or drinking a sugary drink can stave off the attack, but it can come on very quickly and render the sufferer unconscious before they have the chance to take such action. People can even fall into a state of hypoglycemic unconsciousness while asleep. In these cases medical intervention is often required, in the form of glucose injections.
For medical staff in hospital emergency departments, diabetic hypoglycemia is the most common form of hypoglycemia that they will experience. But just because it is a relatively routine medical emergency, does not mean that it can be taken lightly.
Many of the more minor symptoms manifest themselves very early on, before diabetes is diagnosed. These can include increased hunger or thirst, excessive visits to the loo, fatigue and weight loss, blurred vision, and a delay in the healing of minor wounds.
If such symptoms develop swiftly, such as over a period of weeks, then this is usually an indication that the patient is suffering from Type 1 diabetes - where their body fails to produce a sufficient amount of insulin - and such symptoms come on particularly rapidly in the case of children.
Naturally, despite the distressing nature of the swift onset of symptoms, this also means that the condition can be diagnosed early on, and correct treatments can be prescribed, which greatly reduces the chance of developing more serious symptoms later on.
With the more serious form of Type 2 diabetes, the symptoms take much longer to develop - often not showing up for years - and because this often happens in later life, many people dismiss them as just the normal aches and pains associated with the aging process. This can, of course, mean that the condition is not diagnosed until much later, when the risks are much greater and the treatment more difficult - and this is why medical experts stress that if an individual believes they are experiencing any of these symptoms it is imperative that they see a doctor as soon as possible and ask them for a diabetes test, which measures the concentration of glucose in the blood.
These are just the symptoms which indicate the presence of diabetes, however. Once the condition is officially diagnosed, then a sufferer has to be careful not to provoke the serious complications associated with diabetes, such as a hypoglycemic attack. This occurs when blood sugar levels fall dangerously low and ranges in severity from dizziness or faint spells, to unconsciousness - and in rare cases can even lead to severe organ damage or death.
Type 1 diabetes sufferers are the most prone to attacks of hypoglycemia, due to the need to regularly take full doses of insulin. If these are missed then blood sugar levels can become dangerously low. An attack can also occur if the sufferer has been exercising hard, failing to eat properly during the day, or drinking large amounts of alcohol.
In most cases, quickly eating a chocolate bar or drinking a sugary drink can stave off the attack, but it can come on very quickly and render the sufferer unconscious before they have the chance to take such action. People can even fall into a state of hypoglycemic unconsciousness while asleep. In these cases medical intervention is often required, in the form of glucose injections.
For medical staff in hospital emergency departments, diabetic hypoglycemia is the most common form of hypoglycemia that they will experience. But just because it is a relatively routine medical emergency, does not mean that it can be taken lightly.
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