Type 2 diabetes symptoms can go unnoticed for many years or be mistaken for less serious health conditions. If it goes undetected, serious health complications can occur, such as kidney damage, nerve damage and cardiovascular disease.
One of the most commonly recognized symptoms of type 2 diabetes include feeling thirsty all the time. But another sign of the condition can be evident in the armpit, express.co.uk wrote.
Areas of darkened skin is a notable symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic.
It explained: “Some people with type 2 diabetes have patches of dark, velvety skin in the folds and creases of their bodies.”
This usually occurs in the armpit, and can also appear on the neck.
The condition is known as acanthosis nigricans and may be a sign of insulin resistance.
Other symptoms of type 2 diabetes, the NHS notes, include:
• Feeling thirsty all the time
• Feeling very tired
• Losing weight without trying to
• Cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
• Blurred vision
Other symptoms to note are in a person’s pee. These include going to the toilet a lot, especially at night, having a certain smelling urine, and blood in urine.
Frequent urination
Frequent urination is a condition known as polyuria. This is defined as passing more than three liters a day of urine, compared to the normal one or two liters.
While it’s often the result of drinking excessive amounts of fluids, it is also one of the main symptoms of diabetes.
“When the kidneys filter blood to make urine, they reabsorb all of the sugar, returning it to the bloodstream,” explained diabetes.co.uk.
It adds: “In diabetes, the level of sugar in the blood is abnormally high. Not all the sugar can be reabsorbed and some this excess glucose from the blood ends up in the urine where it draws more water.
“This results in unusually large volumes of urine.”
Urine smell
If a person has healthy urine it should not really have a smell, according to the NHS.
It may smell stronger in the morning when it’s more concentrated, or if someone is dehydrated, but other side it should not be noticeable.
But the health body warns if you’re urine is sweet-smelling it could be a sign of diabetes.
If your wee smells more concentrated than normal, it could also be an early warning sign of diabetes, according to Now Patient’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Andrew Thornber.
Blood in urine
Kidney disease, also known as diabetic nephropathy, is more common in people with diabetes, and a symptom of kidney disease can be blood appearing in urine.
“Kidney disease is caused by damage to smell vessels. This damage can cause the vessels to become leaky or, in some cases, to stop working, making the kidneys work less efficiently,” said Diabetes UK.
It further explains: “Keeping blood glucose levels as near normal as possible can greatly reduce the risk of kidney disease developing as well as other diabetes complications.
“It is also very important to keep blood pressure controlled.”
