Diabetes is an enormous problem in the United States, if you don’t suffer from the disease yourself, the chances are that someone you know does.
It is estimated that almost 30 million Americans alone suffer from diabetes, a disease that was once only seen in the elderly population. Today however the disease is so wide spread that it even has a significant impact on our children, as diabetes more often than not comes with a host of other problems.
Those numbers are bad enough, however things get even more scary once you take a look at how many people are pre-diabetic, or just on the cusp of becoming so. This number is approaching the 100 million mark, and unfortunately many of these people end up developing diabetes as a result.
The sheer amount of people that are suffering from this disease in one shape or another along with the other harmful diseases that come as a result of diabetes are reason enough to do what we can to avoid getting this disease. Here are some common signs to keep an eye out for.
Skin Related Issues
The skin is the outermost layer of protection that the body has, and is usually a good place to start when it comes to our health in general. The skin is one of the first areas of the body that will show signs of diabetes, so it is best to start looking here.
Skin problems related to diabetes will mainly involve its ability to remain flexible and impermeable to infection. Early signs of diabetes to look for will be fungal infections, bacterial infections, cracked skin, blisters and rashes.
Damage Related to the Nervous System
Not only can diabetes do damage to our nervous system, is can be very painful in the process. Many of the first signs of pre-diabetes and diabetes are in relation to nerve pain, which is the result of damage done to the nervous system by the excess sugar in the blood.
Tingling sensations, hot or seething pain in areas, as well as having very sensitive skin are all indicators that you may have nerve damage. In this case the pain will just come on as if it is the result of nothing, which is a tell-tale indicator.
Eye Problems from Diabetes
Thirdly, another area of the body which shows easily detectible signs of diabetes are the eyes. Diabetes is one of the biggest factors contributing to various types of eye issues, and thus the eye can help us identify the disease early.
Eye problems such as glaucoma, cataracts, and disorders of the retina are all closely linked to diabetes, so make sure to be aware of this also.
How Can You Effectively Control Diabetes?
1-Keep an Eye on Blood Sugar
The first thing you need to do is to be aware of your blood sugar levels, as that will give you a much more clear idea of how good or poor your blood glucose levels are. After that you want to then look to modify your diet.
The things you are going to want to eliminate first from your diet are all foods and beverages with added sugars. These sugars are just nutritionally devoid calories that we just don’t need to be consuming.
2-Exercise More Often
Not only are diabetes and lack of exercise tightly linked together, increasing your activity alone will improve your blood sugar levels and help you fight off diabetes. Exercise is also great for controlling the symptoms that come along with diabetes, such as poorer cardiovascular functioning
3-Treat Your Skin
As mentioned earlier, your skin is the first line of defense that your body has against infection. After you have your diabetes under control, the health of your skin should arguably be one of the first things you look to improve on.
Treat your skin with moisturizers such as coconut oil or other natural oils to help repair and hydrate your skin.
4-Get Regular Eye Exams
There are some specific eye problems which only come as the result of diabetes, making eye exams extremely important here. Your doctor may be able to definitively tell you whether or not you have diabetes by just performing a few simple eye tests.
Most people admittedly don’t regularly see an eye doctor, however if diabetes is a concern of yours you should be seeing an eye doctor at least once a year, preferably once every six months. Another big favor you can do yourself is to wear sunglasses whenever you are exposed to sunlight as well, which can help to preserve your vision later on.