The following test is very easy and simple and anyone can perform this test in the comfort of their home. It is crucial to take it because the number of people that have high chances to develop diabetes is huge and they are not aware of this fact.
Diabetes is present in more than 10% of Americans. This means that four years ago almost 30 million Americans were suffering from diabetes, but the truth is that almost 30% of them were not diagnosed and didn’t know that they are dealing with this problem.
More than 250 billion dollars are invested in diagnosing diabetes each year.
Even though these figures may be stunning to you, the number of Americans that have the symptoms of prediabetes is even higher – more than 85 million Americans had them four years ago.
The majority of people use a blood test to check whether they have prediabetes or not.
What is interesting is that there is another way to determine whether you are dealing with prediabetes or not but before we share the details let’s learn more about this condition.
Prediabetes Explained
If a person is diagnosed with prediabetes this means that this person has higher blood sugar levels than normal, but this level is still not as high as the one found in diabetics.
The reason why we call it prediabetes is simple – people who are dealing with this condition will soon become diabetics. The good news is that not all people with prediabetes experience type 2 diabetes later in their life.
Even though experiencing prediabetes symptoms doesn’t mean that you will surely become a diabetic, if this situation lasts for a long time, you will experience the same health problems as people with diabetes like nerve damage and heart disease. But, the symptoms associated with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are not visible in some cases which means that it is very important to find another way to determine whether someone is at risk.
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Prediabetes and Diabetes Symptoms
Even though we have already said that prediabetes and type 2 diabetes symptoms can sometimes be hidden, we should be aware of the common symptoms of these conditions. If they are present this means that you are increasing your chances of becoming diabetic are growing. These are some of diabetes and prediabetes symptoms:
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Chronic fatigue
- Rapid weight loss
- Increased appetite
- Vision problems
- Sores that heal very slowly or don’t heal at all.
Diagnosing Prediabetes
As previously mentioned, the majority of people use blood tests for diagnosing diabetes. This test is focused on determining blood sugar levels. In case your levels are higher than a certain level you are considered to be prediabetic.
In case you have very high blood sugar levels, you are a diabetic.
But, there is another way to diagnose prediabetes. The following is a short guide that will help you diagnose this condition in less than 60 seconds with the help of your fingers and by answering some simple questions.
- Hold up one finger in case you are a man and don’t hold up any fingers if you are a woman.
- Hold up one finger in case you are older than forty, two fingers in case you are over fifty, three fingers if you are over sixty and none in cases you are younger than 40 years.
- Hold up one finger if you think that you are not very physically active and none in case you think that you get enough exercise.
- Hold up one finger in case someone in your family is dealing with diabetes and don’t hold up any fingers in case any of them has such problems now or in the past.
- Hold up one finger if you are dealing with hypertension and none if your blood pressure is stable and normal.
- Hold up three fingers in case you are obese, two fingers in case you are overweight, one finger if you are just a little bit overweight, and none in case you have normal body weight.
Once you are finished with this test, you should determine how many fingers you are holding up. In case there are five or more fingers, then you are probably dealing with prediabetes. The self-diagnosis we are promoting here is linked to the factors that contribute to the development of diabetes. Although it is not completely precise, many experts suggest that this is a great way to measure the risk of diabetes.
In case you determine that you are prediabetic with the help of this test, you must take a blood test to find out how prone you are to developing diabetes. If you are at high risk, start making changes in your lifestyle right away in order to regulate blood sugar levels.
Via Diabetes | Diabetes | Diabetes | Diabetes | Web MD