Globally around one-in-sixteen people have Type 2 Diabetes, and numbers are rising. High sugar, high carbohydrate, high alcohol, low exercise lifestyles all contribute to triggering the genetic disposition many of us have towards the condition.
It appears that the effect COVID-19 has an affect on blood which can create a similar effect in the body, whether that will remain as a long term condition for those affected or not remains to be seen. What is known is there has been a uptick in Type 2 Diabetes, and many are those who have been infected by COVID-19.
In this two part post I’ll discuss some of the symptoms and outcomes of Type 2 Diabetes, and ways to mitigate the effects of the condition. Here, in part one, we consider the physical downsides.
The risks of Type 2 Diabetes range from a little inconvenience, to death. The inconvenience can be so minor that many people live with the condition at a low level for months, even years, before there is progression to a point where the seek medical advice.
For many those first inklings of the condition are easy to ignore. The mouth feeling dry is easily assumed to be a symptom of not having drunk enough. Increasing fluid intake is an obvious cause for more frequent visits to the toilet. Feeling tired is almost a ground state for many people and it’s easy to blame work, the commute, the children, or any number of things or a combination of them, for leading to fatigue.
Other symptoms may seem more obvious and noticeable but do you really know how long it takes for a paper cut or a graze to heal? Even if you do there’s a good chance of putting it down to things just taking longer as you get older. Yet, injuries taking longer to heal is a symptom of the condition.
Similar with the eyes getting a bit blurry. Putting off a first trip to the opticians because of not wanting to acknowledge what is assumed to be signs of ageing is as natural as not wanting to admit you’re getting older. The effect of impaired vision, though, is one which reaches throughout our lives. The ability to work, drive, read, cook, and a host of other things are put in danger.
With so many being overweight to a lesser or greater degree, the symptom of losing weight without trying would be viewed by many as a benefit. If the loss is too drastic, the concern is more likely to be cancer than diabetes. While it may be nice to see pounds slip away, to feel once tight garments become comfortable again, weight loss which occurs without making changes to lifestyle, diet, or exercise, need to be investigated for underlying causes. It’s also important to understand that with diabetic weight loss it’s not just fat which is disappearing, but also muscle. So, if you feel things seem heavier than they used to, it may be your muscles aren’t as strong as they were, and it’s taking more effort to do the same amount of work.
A final symptom is the most likely to cause embarrassment. The increased blood sugar levels can lead to yeast infections, commonly called Thrush. In both men and women this can lead to the genitals producing smegma, a thick white secretion which accumulates in the folds of the labia or beneath the foreskin. A circumsized penis is less likely to have this, although the condition which causes it remains. For both men and women the genitals may be itchy, and red. While good hygiene will prevent smegma becoming a problem, it will not remove the underlying problem.
For men a further risk is phimosis, where the foreskin contracts and moves back and forth with difficulty, if at all. It is this condition which leads to the diagnosis of diabetes for many men as they are finally forced to see a doctor due to the discomfort involved. The phimosis is often treated with a steroid cream - or circumcision in extreme cases - and the thrush with an anti-fungal medication.
Annoyingly Thrush may not lead to any symptoms. This can lead to a situation where one partner endures frequent bouts of Thrush yet the other partner seems to be clear, while in reality this partner is constantly reinfecting the other.
Left unattended, untreated, these symptoms move from being a symptom of diabetes to becoming life endangering issues. Injuries which take longer to heal are more liable to become infected and risk sepsis. For the eyes diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness.
A major effect of diabetes is the way it changes the shape and fluidity of blood cells and thus how it moves through the blood vessels. This change is part of what produces blurriness in the eyes, as the tiny veins have difficulty with the stickier, less elastic, blood. It also leads to less blood flow and oxygen to the extremities and when untreated this can cause the skin to gradually die off, potentially becoming gangrenous. In such circumstances amputation is a real likelihood.
With the above body horror and unpleasantness being considered, why is there not more public awareness of such things?
Thankfully Type 2 Diabetes is a condition which can easily be controlled. We’ll discuss this in the next part.
text and header by stuartcturnbull header created in Canva
NB* The above is general information and it is recommended you consult with a qualified medical practitioner for personal medical advice