The symptoms of diabetes can vary according to the type of disease, but in general the first signs and symptoms of diabetes are frequent tiredness, very hungry, sudden weight loss, very thirst, a lot of desire to go to the bathroom and darkening of folds, such as the armpit and neck, for example.
Type 1 diabetes is related to genetic and immunological factors, the first symptoms being noticed even during childhood and adolescence. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is usually related to the person's habits, the symptoms being perceived as the amount of glucose increases in the blood and the production of insulin is not enough.
As soon as the first signs and symptoms of diabetes appear, it is recommended that the person go to the general practitioner, pediatrician or endocrinologist to have tests done in order to diagnose the disease. The best way to diagnose diabetes is through blood tests that assess the amount of circulating sugar, such as fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin and TOTG, for example. Learn more about tests that confirm diabetes.
First symptoms of diabetes
The first signs and symptoms that may appear and be indicative of diabetes are:
- Frequent tiredness, lack of energy to play, too much sleep, laziness; The child can eat well, but still start to lose weight suddenly; The child can wake up to pee at night or go back to pee in bed; Very thirsty, even on the coldest days, but the mouth remains dry; presents irritability or lack of willingness to perform day-to-day activities, in addition to decreased school performance; very hungry; tingling or cramps in the limbs; difficulty in healing wounds; Repeating fungal infections; Darkening of the folds, especially neck and armpit.
It is important that diabetes is identified as soon as the first symptoms appear, as it is possible to start treatment and prevent complications of the disease, such as difficulty in seeing, pain and tingling in the body, kidney problems, poor circulation and erectile dysfunction.
It is common for type 2 diabetes to remain silent for 10 to 15 years, during which time fasting glucose may remain normal, for example. Thus, those who have cases of diabetes in the family, are sedentary or are overweight, need to be monitored periodically to assess glucose levels by examining fasting blood glucose, examining the finger prick and glycated hemoglobin, for example. Know the 10 symptoms of excess blood sugar.
How the diagnosis is made
Diabetes can be diagnosed through some tests, such as:
- Finger prick test: Normal up to 200 mg / dL at any time of day; Glucose blood test 8 hours fast: Normal up to 99 mg / dL; Glucose tolerance test: Normal up to 140 mg / dL 2 hours after the exam and 199 mg / dL for up to 4 hours; Glycated hemoglobin: Normal up to 5.7%.
Everyone should take at least 1 of these tests once a year to find out if their blood sugar is high. Anyone, of any age can have type 2 diabetes, even without cases in the family, but the chances increase when there is a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.
How to treat diabetes
The treatment of diabetes is done mainly through the control of food, regulating the amount of carbohydrates that the person consumes during the day, being therefore important the monitoring of a nutritionist. In addition, the use of medications may be recommended by the endocrinologist, however this indication is more frequent for adults. In the case of children and adolescents, diabetes can be easily controlled through food and regular physical exercise.
Watch the video and learn how to eat well in case of diabetes:
