Diabetes affects more than 30 million people in the United States. Though this number is astonishingly large, a major percentage of these people don’t even know that they have diabetes.

Many common symptoms of diabetes can easily be dismissed as a fluke symptom of something else. Increased frequency of urination, for example, can potentially be attributed to many things and so many not cause any alarm.

But if you have lots of these symptoms and you continue to ignore them, things will get ugly pretty fast.

Why?

Because diabetes causes serious damage to the blood vessels all throughout your body. Damaged blood vessels don’t carry blood as efficiently, which begins a domino effect of damage in the body.

Conditions such as heart disease, cognitive decline, blindness, and nerve damage are common among those diagnosed with diabetes.

Luckily, there are many ways to control this domino effect, such as with a healthy diet and moderate exercise. First, however, you must learn to recognize the symptoms.

10 Tricky Diabetes Symptoms You Can’t Ignore

If you’ve been living with diabetes for awhile now, then you will likely recognize these symptoms immediately. But even the veterans sometimes let the symptoms slip by. Though this is totally understandable (hey, life happens), it can eventually lead to some irreversible damage. To avoid blindness and amputation, among other things, pay attention for the following symptoms.

1. Your breath smells like nail polish
2. Blurry vision
3. Unexplained nausea or vomiting
4. Discomfort or pain in the abdomen
5. Unintended weight loss
6. Rapid breathing
7. Cuts and wounds heal more slowly
8. Increased hunger
9. Dry, itchy skin
10. Recurring infections like urinary tract infections or sinus infections

And, of course, we can’t forget the classic symptoms:

• Increased frequency of urination
• Excessive thirst and fluid intake
• Numbness and/or tingling in the hands and feet
• Unexplained tiredness or drowsiness
• Weakness and fatigue

If any of these symptoms sound familiar, then talk to your doctor today. Even if you already hold a diabetes diagnosis, these symptoms indicate that it is not under control. Avoid serious damage and get them under control right away!