Blood sugar imbalances may seem like they would be easy to spot, but more often than not, the signs tend to go ignored.
Without tests to monitor blood glucose levels, checking for unbalanced blood sugar can be difficult. This can have dire consequences, especially for those suffering from diabetes.
Hyperglycemia refers to when the blood sugar is extremely high and is often associated with prediabetes and diabetes. On the other hand, hypoglycemia refers to when the blood sugar is low. Both conditions, if left untreated, can be dangerous.
Knowing how to spot the symptoms of imbalanced blood sugar can help you take the necessary steps to halt its progression and keep your body healthy.
Signs Of Blood Sugar Imbalance To Look Out For
Here are some signs you should watch out for to spot blood sugar imbalance.
1. Fatigue and Tiredness
If you constantly feel tired or fatigued, it can be a sign that your body doesn’t have sufficient insulin or is unable to process insulin properly.
This means that the sugar you consume from your food remains in your blood instead of being converted into energy, which can lead to excessive tiredness and exhaustion.
So, if you feel uncharacteristically low on energy, you should get your blood sugar checked.
2. Increased Appetite and Weight Loss
If you’re feeling hungrier than usual but are still losing weight, your blood sugar may be imbalanced. This tends to happen because the body is unable to turn glucose into energy and breaks down fat or muscle instead.
3. Blurry Vision and Headaches
Unbalanced blood sugar can cause the eye’s lenses to swell due to fluid leaking in. This can change the lens’ shape and cause blurry vision.
Frequent headaches that make it difficult to concentrate on work and important tasks can also be a result of imbalanced blood sugar.
4. Bruises, Wounds, and Sores Take Longer To Heal
Diabetes can damage nerves, thus affecting blood circulation in the body, especially in the feet and lower legs.
This can cause wounds such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, and other injuries to take longer to heal, and also leaves them prone to infections.
5. Numbness or Tingling in Hands and Feet
Diabetic neuropathy can cause numbness or a tingling sensation in the feet and hands. This is due to the nerve damage caused by imbalanced blood sugar. It can even cause pain in n the hands and feet.
6. Increased Yeast Infections
Imbalanced blood sugar in women can cause yeast infections that manifest as redness, itching, soreness, painful urination, or thick vaginal discharge. Though yeast infections may occur due to other reasons, imbalanced blood sugar increases the risk as the yeast feeds off the glucose in the urinary tract.
7. Blisters, Dryness, and Other Changes in Skin
Skin tags in the skin’s creases and dark, thick patches on the armpits, face, hands, or back of the neck are all signs of insulin resistance. This is also known as acanthosis nigricans.
Additionally, infections, dryness, blisters, itchiness, skin abnormalities, and discoloration can also be signs of an imbalance in blood sugar.
Conclusion
Diabetes and imbalanced blood sugar can severely affect your health and well-being. It’s crucial that you watch out for these warning signs to help you with damage control before it’s too late.
If you do notice any of these symptoms, you can make certain changes to balance your blood sugar. Some measures include regular exercise, eating more fiber and fewer carbs, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, and trying to reduce stress.