12 Warning Signs of Diabetes that Appear on Your Skin
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Does your skin appear waxy, swollen, or just thickened? It could very well be a sign of diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that affects your whole body and kills you slowly. It can show up in several ways. From damaging your nerve endings to causing end-stage kidney disease, it is one of the principal killers of this century. Even the best doctors may miss the first signs of diabetes.
Diabetes is the leading cause of death, especially in developed countries. While many countries struggle to feed their people, they have too much food, especially fast food and foods that aren’t good for you, which leads to this problem. Even though your diet doesn’t directly cause you to get diabetes, it is one of the things that affects your lifestyle. So, if you believe your lifestyle may lead to diabetes in the future, or if diabetes runs in your family, start monitoring your health in your mid-20s.
So here is a list of 12 warning signs on your skin that indicate you may have diabetes. Even though the list is neither complete nor final, you should see your doctor as soon as possible.
Patchy Discoloration of Your Skin
Necrobiosis lipoidica is exactly as scary as it sounds! The onset of this condition is as inconspicuous as it is innocuous. The disease starts gradually and silently. It begins as tiny, hard bumps on your skin. But with time, it becomes hardened, discolored patches all over the body.
However, your problems don’t end here. These affected patches of your skin are both painful and itchy. The unaffected areas around these patches become like porcelain. The maximum number of such reported cases are seen in young females suffering from uncontrolled and undiagnosed diabetes
This condition can also indicate other comorbidities associated with diabetes, such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and thyroid disorders.
Velvety skin
Next on our list is Acanthosis nigricans. Even though it isn’t usually thought of as a sign of diabetes by itself, it is a pretty strong sign of the disease. The dark, velvety patches may appear on almost any part of your body. Usually, it is seen in the groin, armpits, or the back of your neck, where you have more skin folds.
The condition indicates an overabundance of the insulin hormone in your blood. However, if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes (usually type 2) and are experiencing this condition, there may be other substantial red flags!
Skin Blistering
Skin blisters are one of the rarer signs of diabetes mellitus. The top layer of your skin is formed by a hard yet flexible protein known as keratin. In cases of insulin-resistant diabetes, there is more of the hormone coursing through your veins.
The hormone affects those cells of your body that produce keratin. While in some cases it deposits more of the substance making the skin patchily discolored, it may just as easily cause them to stop production altogether!
When this happens, the top layer of that part of your skin undergoes regular wear and tear but is not replenished. Thus, your skin blisters in those areas may appear as raised bumps.
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