Monday, October 29, 2007

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of diabetes progress according to the range and duration of high blood sugar levels. The symptoms usually start mild (e.g. poorly healing skin rashes), and then progress to the more severe symptoms (e.g. excessive thirst and urination), and then finally to the dangerous life-threatening conditions of HHNS or DKA. The progression of symptoms is usually slow over years for Type 2 diabetes and rapid over weeks or months for Type 1 diabetes. People with Type 2 diabetes often are undiagnosed long enough that they start to get symptoms of the complications of diabetes, such as kidney and foot problems.

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Diabetes includes the 64 symptoms listed below:

* No early symptoms - many people have Type 2 diabetes without knowing it

* Early mild symptoms - from moderate blood sugars (which are still dangerous and lead to serious complications):

o Abscess

o Skin rashes

o Skin infections

o Athlete's foot

o Poor skin healing

o Urinary tract infections

o Candida

o Thrush

o Dry itchy skin

o Flaky skin

o Skin ulcers

o Skin boils

o Peripheral neuropathy

o Paresthesias

o Foot tingling

o Foot numbness

o Hand tingling

o Hand numbness

o Blurred vision

o Sexual problems

o Erectile failure

o Unusual vaginal dryness

o Premature menopause

o Absent periods

o Poor healing - any type of difficulty healing of minor infections, injury or after surgery.

o Weight loss

o Weight gain

o Drowsiness

o Malaise

* Later more extreme symptoms when blood sugars get higher:

o Excessive thirst

o Excessive urination

o Dehydration

o Bed wetting - in children

o Excessive hunger

o Tiredness

o Weight loss

o Severe blurred vision

o Muscle cramps

o Muscle aches

o Headaches

o Irritability

o Tiredness

o Fatigue

o Muscle weakness

o Acne - often worsens from diabetes and improves once sugars controlled

o Sexual problems

+ Erectile failure

+ Unusual vaginal dryness

o Absent menstrual periods

o Persistent fungal skin infections

+ Athlete's foot

+ Tinea

+ Thrush (Candida)

* Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Syndrome (HHNS) - a very severe life-threatening complication of high blood sugars

* Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) - a very severe life-threatening complication of high blood sugars, requiring emergency treatment, which has very severe symptoms:

o Nausea

o Vomiting

o Sweet-smelling fruity acetone breath

o Breathing difficulty

o Rapid Pulse

o Abdominal pain - usually in children


Note that Diabetes symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Diabetes signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.


More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

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