9 Signs That Tell You Your Blood Sugar Level Is High
Hyperglycemia might be acute or chronic. Acute hyperglycemia lasts only briefly and is usually the result of factors such as a high-carbohydrate meal, a missed dose of medicine, stress, or illness. Chronic hyperglycemia, on the other hand, is a state of long-term elevated blood glucose. It is often due to undiagnosed diabetes or of an inadequate diabetes treatment regimen. Chronic hyperglycemia is arguably the more dangerous of the two, as long-term elevated blood glucose has a toxic effect on the body’s tissues. In fact, some of the signs of high blood glucose are actually attributed to cellular damage caused by high blood glucose.
The blood sugar level increases as the glucose build up in the bloodstream becomes too high. The body regulates the amount of sugar in the blood so the risk of excess sugar in the blood increases when someone has diabetes. The conversion of glucose to glycogen to be absorbed by the body cells is done by insulin that is secreted by the pancreas but where insulin is not adequate for this process, excess sugar starts building up in the blood. So many people think that excess sugar intake is the cause of high blood sugar but that's incorrect. Although consuming super sugary food leads to this, it only occurs when the adequate amount of insulin is not produced to enable the proper conversion.
Here are some signs of high blood sugar level.
1. Fatigue
Feeling drained is one of the typical and first signs of high blood sugar levels. This may also occur mildly in people without diabetes, particularly when there is ingestion of a large number of carbs such as sugar. If you feel tired after having any meal, particularly a heavy carb meal, please see your doctor as soon as possible for this might be an indication that your blood sugar level is high.
2. Frequent urination
Polyuria is the result of a biological and chemical chain reaction: It starts in the blood, where high glucose concentrations osmotically pull intracellular fluid into the bloodstream. This is the body’s attempt to balance the concentration of glucose in the blood with the concentration in the cells. By diluting the blood with intracellular fluid, the body returns the glucose concentration of the blood closer to normal. Initially, this increases the fluid volume of the blood while dehydrating the cells.
Meanwhile, in the kidneys, a related dysfunction is brewing. Normally, the kidneys serve as filters, removing waste products and sending back cleansed fluid to the body. The return of the cleansed fluid — or reabsorption of fluid — takes place in the renal tubules, the internal structure of the million or so filtering nephrons in each kidney. However, when the glucose concentration of the fluid entering the nephrons exceeds 250 mg/dl, the reabsorption capacity of the renal tubules is reduced, triggering what is known as osmotic diuresis — a discharge of large amounts of urine. Until the glucose levels are normalized, the renal tubules can’t regain the ability to absorb fluids.
So a dual chain reaction has started. The cells are pumping water into the bloodstream, and the kidneys, unable to reabsorb this fluid during filtering, are uncontrollably flushing water from the body. The result is runaway urination. To meet the clinical definition of polyuria, urine output for an adult must exceed 2.5 liters per day (normal urine output is 1.5 liters per day); however, extremely high blood glucose might lead to outputs of 15 liters (about 4 gallons) per day, a fluid loss similar to that seen in cholera victims. In rare cases, polyuria can top out at 20–25 liters per day, about half the body’s total fluid volume. The dehydrating effect of polyuria is a key factor in many of the other signs and symptoms of high blood glucose, like polydipsia.
3. Increased thirst
You get dehydrated and start to thirst for more water as you spit daily urine. usually, the more water you take, the more urination you experience, the thirstier you are all the time. When you experience this sign continuously, see your doctor for appropriate treatment.
4. Headaches
If your blood sugar level rises, you start having daily headaches, due to dehydration . Dehydration often can lead to fatigue, so go for a medical check-up if you start getting regular headaches.
5. Blurred vision
Excess blood sugar can affect certain parts of the body, like the eyes, too. The extra sugar that has been accumulated in the lens of the eye can produce a blurred effect and thereby hinder vision.
6. Nausea, vomiting and lack of concentration
When the excess sugar in the blood enters a critical stage called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), the body starts experiencing symptom's like nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, abdominal pain, breathing difficulty, dry skin, fruity-smelling air and difficulties with concentration.
7. Slow-healing sores
High blood sugar considerablly slows the healing of skin and soft-tissue infections due to neutrophils, the most common type of leukocyte in the immune system’s arsenal, are particularly vulnerable to high levels of glucose. High blood sugar keeps the neutrophils from sticking to the endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels; disrupts chemotaxis, the body’s chemical signaling control system that directs neutrophils to the site of injuries or infections; and, as indicated above, makes phagocytosis sluggish.
Another critical element of wound healing is a sufficient supply of oxygen, and the delivery of oxygen can be lowered by either peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) or peripheral vascular disease (blood vessel disease) — both common conditions caused by or made worse by high blood glucose. The slow healing of wounds sets the stage for some of the worst diabetes complications. Minor wounds might advance to cellulitis, which is a serious infection. Cellulitis can advance to tissue necrosis, or tissue death. Tissue necrosis may then extend from the soft tissue into the bone, which is what often leads to amputation
8. Dental issues
If the amount of blood sugar in the body is high, both the saliva and blood might contain glucose. Excess of this allows bacteria to develop in the mouth which lead to various oral diseases including tooth decay, gum disease, cavities, gingivitis, gum disease, swollen and bleeding gum, etc.
9.Tingling Hands And Feet
Excess blood Sugar may affect nervous system function, and even cause damage to it. Your blood sugar level is no longer normal and needs to be monitored when you start feeling tingling, numbness, and burning sensations in your hands , feet, arms and legs.
How To Get High Blood Level Under Control
While the causes that lead to the symptoms of high blood glucose are fascinating, the real impact of symptoms is in the message they carry: Blood glucose is too high. The symptoms are warning signs, and ignoring them is at own peril. High blood sugar does more than trigger biological and chemical processes that make you feel crummy; over time, high blood glucose causes permanent damage to the body.
But you can make the symptoms go away, and keep them from coming back, by maitaining your high blood sugar under control. And you’re not alone in this task. Talk to your doctor. Make time to see a diabetes educator. Ask your family members for their support in helping you to eat right and keep active. Use the tools available to you, like your blood glucose meter, to see whether your numbers are in target range most of the time. If they are not, inform your medical assistant about adjusting your therapy.
Comments
Post a Comment