8 early symptoms of diabetes you should not ignore

Diabetes is sometimes referred to as a "silent disease" as it can develop slowly and present a number of symptoms in the early stages. Often, by the time you are aware of symptoms, blood sugar can already be at dangerous levels.

Says Dr Rakesh Menon, a consultant endocrinologist in Bengaluru, "Recognising the early symptoms of diabetes is critical. Making lifestyle changes along with medical treatment can sometimes delay or prevent diabetes."

He suggests everybody must watch out for these 8 early symptoms of diabetes:

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• Frequent Urination (Polyuria): One of the earliest signs of high blood sugar is having to urinate more frequently, particularly at night. When glucose levels are too high, the kidneys have to work hard to filter and absorb it all, leading to more urination, which can cause dehydration and disrupt sleep.

• Increased Thirst (Polydipsia): Frequent urination means that the body is losing fluids, leading it to want more water. If you are experiencing thirst that feels out of the ordinary—sometimes even after consuming a lot of fluids — it may still be an early sign that your body is trying to excrete extra sugar through urine.

• Unexplained Weight Loss: Unexplained weight loss, without drastic changes in diet or activity level, can also be a red flag for diabetes. When the body cannot effectively utilise glucose for energy, (due to lack of insulin or insulin resistance) it will instead burn fat and muscle for energy, which can lead to sudden and unexplained weight loss.

• Chronic Fatigue: If your level of tiredness seems out of the ordinary—even after a full night of sleep—this may also be related to the inability of the body to use glucose for energy.

• Blurred Vision: Persistent high blood sugar can cause the fluid in the eye's lens to shift in and out, which can also lead to swelling of the lens. This can cause temporary changes in vision. In the early stages of diabetes, it can cause blurry vision that comes and goes. Blurry vision may become permanent damage to the retina if the cause (high blood sugar) is not eventually eliminated.

• Slow Wound Healing: If cuts or sores are slow to heal, it may be due to poor circulation and high glucose levels also affected the body's natural healing process. Slow healing is more common in the legs and feet and it increases the risk of infections.

• Increased Hunger (Polyphagia):  An uncontrolled level of blood sugar causes glucose to remain in the bloodstream and not enter the cells of the body to be used as energy. This can create a sensation of continuous hunger, even after eating.

• Tingling or Numbness in the Hands and Feet: Nerve damage, which is most referred to as diabetic neuropathy, often presents initially as very subtle symptoms, such as tingling, numbness, or a "pins and needles" sensation, in the extremities. This occurs when high blood sugar remains high for long periods of time and causes nerve damage, commonly in the hands and feet. If diabetic neuropathy is caught early, permanent effects can often be avoided.