In Ireland, an estimated 190,000 people (5.6% of the population) have diabetes, according to the HSE.
Among them, approximately 30,000 (15%) have Type 1 diabetes, genetic, or secondary causes of diabetes. The other 160,000 (85%) have Type 2 diabetes, which can be hereditary but is often triggered by a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet.
Some 20 to 30% of these patients with Type 2 diabetes are unaware they even have the condition and in the next 10 to 15 years, the number of people with Type 2 diabetes in Ireland is expected to increase by 60%.
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The increasingly common condition causes a person’s blood sugar to become too high - essentially an inability of the body to break down glucose levels.
There are two main types of diabetes:
Type 1 is when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin.
Type 2 is the most common, and it’s when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells fail to react to insulin. This one is considered the easier to manage of the two.
It's a serious condition which increases the risk of stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, narrowing of blood vessels and nerve damage.
Like every condition, there are a number of signs and symptoms that can point to someone having it, with some red flags less well-known than others.
What are the key symptoms of diabetes?
The HSE says Type 1 diabetes symptoms can come on quickly, particularly in children.
It says you should visit your GP if you experience any of the following symptoms of Type 1 diabetes:
- feeling very thirsty
- peeing more than usual, particularly at night
- feeling very tired
- losing weight without trying
- thrush that keeps coming back
- blurred vision
- cuts and grazes that are not healing
The HSE says many people have Type 2 diabetes without realising it. This is because symptoms do not necessarily make you feel unwell, some people do not have symptoms, and symptoms may not appear for some time
The most common signs and symptoms of undiagnosed or poorly managed Type 2 diabetes include:
- feeling thirsty all the time - drinking excessive amounts of liquids or unable to quench your thirst
- peeing more than usual, particularly at night
- feeling tired, lack of energy, sleeping more than usual
- losing weight without trying to
- frequent infections, cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
- numbness, pain or tingling in your hands or feet
- blurred vision
- itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush
What are the risks of developing Type 2 diabetes?
According to the HSE, you are more at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes if you:
- are over 45
- have a close relative with diabetes such as a parent, brother or sister
- are an adult who is overweight or has obesity
- have a diagnosis of pre-diabetes
- had gestational diabetes during pregnancy
- are physically inactive - for example, if you take less than 30 minutes of physical activity most days
- have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides
- have a history of heart disease
- have a medical condition that requires long-term steroid use
- are a member of the travelling community
- are of south Asian, Chinese, Hispanic, African Caribbean or black African origin
- have haemochromatosis - storing too much iron in your body
- are a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Top tips to help manage diabetes
Keep calm - Stress can cause blood sugar levels to rise, so relaxing is important.
Be in the know - Continuous glucose monitoring is important to manage diabetes. It can help you react more quickly to whether it is high or low.
Drink in moderation - Drinking alcohol can produce signs of low blood sugar
Improve oral hygiene - Diabetes puts you at greater risk for gum disease as people with the condition have a lowered ability to fight infection from bacteria in the mouth
Sweeten it yourself - Reduce sugar in your diet by adding your own sweeteners
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