How Do You Know You Have Diabetes Mellitus (Clinical Features)?

One of the best ways to understand diabetes mellitus is by recognizing how this disease presents itself. Most diabetes patients do not recognize the signs or symptoms associated with diabetes mellitus thus not giving them ample time to begin treatment at its earliest hour.

It is important to recognize the early warning signs and symptoms of diabetes Mellitus because if this discovery becomes late, it becomes a life-threatening disease.

Clinical Features of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a type of diabetes that occurs mostly in children and young adults where the body does not produce insulin. Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes typically start mild and get progressively worse or more intense, which could happen over several days, weeks, or months. This is because the pancreas makes less and less insulin.

Symptoms are:

• Polydipsia (Excessive Thirst): This is an abnormal urge to drink or take water at all times. It is caused simply by not drinking enough water after you lose a lot of fluid.
• Polyuria: Frequent urination, including frequent full diapers in infants and bedwetting in children.
• Polyphagia: This is a feeling of excessive and insatiable hunger, or desire to eat often leading to overeating. It does not subside after eating and often leads to rapid intake of excessive quantities of food.
• Unplanned Weight Loss: Once the body cannot get energy from food, it will start burning muscle and fat for energy instead. This may cause weight loss even though the person has not changed his/her eating habits.
• Fatigue: This is caused by not getting enough energy due to insulin deficiency
• Blurred Vision: This is an effect of the lens's hyperosmolar state, thereby causing osmotic swelling of the lens and altering its normal focal length.
• Slow Healing of Cuts and Sores

Once these symptoms have presented themselves, it is essential that one visits a medical doctor and asked that the person be tested for Type 1 diabetes as soon as possible. The sooner one is diagnosed, the better.

If a diagnosis is delayed, untreated Type 1 diabetes can be life-threatening due to a complication called diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA). Emergency medical care is needed if a patient is experiencing any combination of the following symptoms which suggest diabetic-related ketoacidosis.

• Nausea and Vomiting:When the body resorts to burning fat, it makes ketones. These can build up in the blood to dangerous levels, a possibly life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can make one feel sick to the stomach.
• Fruity-Smelling Breath: This is called ketonic breath because of ketones in the blood, going into the breath.
• Abdominal (Stomach) Discomfort or Pain: This occurs in some young people when they have diabetic ketoacidosis
• Rapid Breathing: Ketonic acidotic breathing which is usually intense and rapid
• Confusion, drowsiness, and loss of consciousness occur in these patients

Illustrative Case

Master A.A is a 17-year-old Secondary School student who started having frequent urination with large volumes of urine, thirst, drinking water often, and appearing to lose weight even though he eats and drinks a lot of food and water. He was referred to see the school clinic.

Comments

These are symptoms that suggest the onset of childhood diabetes mellitus. He should be evaluated by a doctor to diagnose diabetes mellitus and treat it accordingly.

Clinical Features of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common type of diabetes. Its symptoms often take several years to develop, making people not notice any symptoms at all. In type 2 diabetes, insulin is secreted by the patient but it is not effective because of the presence of insulin antagonists which impairs the function of insulin.

Type 2 diabetes usually occurs in adults, though more and more children and teens are developing it. Because symptoms are hard to spot and develop slowly, the symptoms may be mild and easy to dismiss at first. This is why it is important to know certain symptoms of type 2 diabetes that might present itself.

The symptoms may include:

• Increased thirst (polydipsia): An abnormal urge to drink or take water at all times simply caused by not drinking enough water after you lose a lot of fluid.
• Frequent urination (polyuria): There is a constant feeling of urination especially at minimal intervals
• Increased Hunger (polyphagia): Excessive desire to eat more food leads to overeating.
• Unexplained and unintended weight loss may occur. However, many patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are overweight or obese
• Fatigue: This is because the body can't get enough glucose into the cells for energy
• Blurred Vision: This occurs in long-standing cases
• Slow-Healing Sores
• Frequent Infections particularly urinary tract infections, infected wounds, and in some cases tuberculosis
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet in long-standing cases that have affected the nerves
• Impotence in men with long-standing uncontrolled diabetes mellitus

These are common symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Illustrative Case

B.O. is a 45-year-old civil servant who started noticing an increase in thirst and passing a lot of urine. He also noticed fatigue and increase food intake.

Comments

This patient is beginning to have symptoms suggestive of diabetes mellitus. He should see his doctor so that can be evaluated and his diabetes mellitus diagnosed and treatment started.