Diabetes means there is too much sugar in the blood, because the body either does not make enough insulin or cannot use it properly. It is increasingly common in Cameroonian towns, and about half of the people who have it do not know, because the early years are silent.
The warning signs
- Passing urine often, including getting up at night.
- Being thirsty all the time.
- Losing weight without trying.
- Tiredness, and blurred vision.
- Cuts and sores that heal slowly, and repeated skin or genital infections.
- Numbness or tingling in the feet.
Who should get tested
- Anyone with those signs.
- Anyone over 40, at least occasionally.
- Anyone overweight, particularly around the waist.
- Anyone with a parent or sibling who has it.
- Any woman who had diabetes in pregnancy, or a baby over 4 kg.
The test is a finger prick for blood sugar, available at any health centre. A fasting result of 7.0 mmol/l or above, or a random result of 11.1 or above with symptoms, points to diabetes; the clinician confirms it.
The two main types
- Type 1: the body makes almost no insulin. It usually starts in childhood or young adulthood, comes on over weeks, and always needs insulin. It is not caused by diet.
- Type 2: the body resists its own insulin. It builds over years, is linked to weight, inactivity and diet, and is treated with habits, tablets, and sometimes insulin later.
Go to a facility immediately if
- Vomiting with deep, fast breathing, a fruity smell on the breath, and severe thirst. That is a diabetic emergency.
- Confusion or drowsiness in someone with diabetes.
- Shaking, sweating, confusion in someone on insulin or tablets. Sugar may be too low: give something sweet immediately, then go.
- A foot wound that is black, smells, or is spreading.
- Sudden loss of vision.
Why it is worth catching early
Uncontrolled diabetes damages the eyes, the kidneys, the nerves and the blood vessels, and it is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputation. None of that happens quickly, and almost all of it is preventable by control that starts early. A person diagnosed early and treated lives a normal life.
