Diabetes is a manageable disease that affects how insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar, is made and used in the human body. When the body produces too little insulin, blood sugar levels rise, resulting in diabetes. A woman is at risk for developing diabetes if she is overweight, has a family history of diabetes, is over forty-five, or is of an ethnic descent prone to the disease. A pregnant woman may develop diabetes during pregnancy, called gestational diabetes, even if she has no risk factors for diabetes. Women and men can experience similar early diabetes symptoms, and should seek medical evaluation if symptoms appear.
Appetite Changes
Increased thirst and hunger are two of the most notable symptoms of diabetes. Insulin is responsible for the chemical breakdown of blood sugar that fuels the body. During diabetes, an imbalance of insulin and blood sugar occurs, causing too much blood sugar in the blood stream. The Mayo Clinic explains that fluid is pulled from the body tissues into the blood stream in attempt to dilute the amount of sugar in the blood. Additionally, the brain signals thirst and hunger in attempt to balance blood sugar and insulin, resulting in increased appetite and thirst. Despite increasing her fluid intake, a woman may feel as if she can never get enough fluids. Her skin may feel itchy or dry, as well.
Urination Changes
A woman may notice an increased need to urinate. As the brain signals the body to take in more fluid to dilute blood sugar levels, urine output is signaled to increase in order to flush blood sugar from the body. A woman may notice that she is urinating often and may only expel small amounts of urine at a time. Frequent urination can be caused by any number of conditions, but should raise concern in a woman who suspects diabetes, or has risk factors for the disease.
Infections
Undetected diabetes changes the way the body fights infection and initiates healing. Sores may be slow to scab over and heal. Simple scrapes or cuts that would normally heal quickly may be very slow to scab over or form new skin. A woman may experience in increase in infections, such as wound infections, or infections that keep coming back even after treatment. Women may also experience an increase in vaginal yeast infections, a potential diabetes symptom, according to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
