7 Signs That Your Blood Sugar Levels Are Too High
Blood sugar, or glucose, is the main source of energy for the cells in the body. This type of sugar is found in flours, honey, carrots, and rice, amongst other foods. While we use need it for daily living, it’s not good when your blood sugar levels are too high.
The specific purpose of this energy is to help you perform important bodily functions, such as digestion. It keeps the heart functioning, the synapses going, and fuels a host of other processes.
The sugar found in your blood must be kept between 70 and 110 mg/dL to make the most of its benefits. If it gets too high or low, you may suffer negative health consequences.
See Also: Fruits that Can Help Digestion
When your blood sugar levels are too high, this condition is called hyperglycemia. It can cause damage to various organs. Even further, when these levels are above 180 mg/dL it’s diagnosed as diabetes mellitus. It’s important to keep this condition under strict medical observation, since it can cause many complications.
What is hyperglycemia?
Hyperglycemia is when your blood sugar levels are too high – specifically, above 140 mg/dL. This condition can happen for one of two reasons:
- Your pancreas is having problems in creating the right amount of insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels.
- The body can’t use insulin properly.
In either case, it’s crucial that you visit a doctor to find out what medications you need, learn about necessary changes to your diet, and talk about the amount of exercise you need to do.
Symptoms when your blood sugar levels are too high
Hyperglycemia is difficult to detect if you don’t pay close enough attention, but there are always symptoms. The best thing to do is to have a medical examination every 6 months in order to have your doctor monitor any changes occurring in your body.
A blood sugar test is normally very cheap and simple. A small amount of blood will be taken and checked. As for the symptoms you need to watch out for, here is a list:
Also Read: 5 Plants to Increase Blood Flow
1. Polydipsia
This is an urgent and exaggerated need to drink water, generally accompanied by the sensation of a dry mouth. It’s important to drink as much water as you need, since that’s the way that the body seeks to regulate blood sugar levels.
However, you must remember that the problem will persist until you normalise your blood sugar levels. See your doctor for more help. In the meantime, some good advice is to get more exercise into your daily routine.
2. Skin lesions
When your blood sugar levels are too high, you might see it on the skin. High blood sugar can cause the appearance of skin lesions, coffee-coloured marks on the legs, reddening of the face, and dry skin. You nails, palms, and the soles of your feet might also turn yellow.
If you notices that bruises are appearing on your body and seem to last for a lot longer than normal, visit your doctor as soon as you can. Don’t ignore these symptoms, since the condition might be damaging your blood vessels.
3. Mood swings
Hyperglycemia can cause many changes in your mood, such as irritability, or depression. There are people who have a tendency to get grumpy even when in health. Others may have a more aggressive personality, but if it’s not something common for you, this could be a symptom.
Remember that emotions depend of chemical processes in the brain, and these processes are affected by blood sugar levels.
4. Weakness and drowsiness
Due to the fact that your cells aren’t able to efficiently absorb blood sugar, energy levels will fall. This can result in:
- Weakness
- Extreme tiredness
- Drowsiness
- Fainting
To address this problem it’s crucial that you eat enough fresh vegetables to get high-quality vitamins and minerals. If the problem is very serious, your doctor could provide you with some supplements.
5. Slow healing of wounds
Hyperglycemia causes a severe change in coagulation. This in turn causes a problem with the speed at which wounds heal. This change can also cause the appearance of hematomas or bruising.
If you notice that any wounds are taking a long time to stop bleeding, or that they don’t heal as fast as normal, you need to address this. Once you get control of your blood sugar levels, this will cease to be a problem.
6. Vision problems
Small veins and vessels in the retina, the macula, and the optic nerve can show signs of damage as a result of hyperglycemia. Amongst the problems that this damage can cause are:
- Blurred vision.
- Dark spots in your field of vision.
- Pain around the eyes.
- Difficulty focusing on close objects or objects in your lateral or peripheral vision.
Regular visits to an opthalmologist can help to identify these problems so that you can deal with any vision problems before they become severe.
7. Sexual problems
Damage to nerves and blood vessels caused by high blood sugar levels can result in changes to sexual functioning in both men and women. In men, hyperglycemia can cause:
- Inability to achieve or maintain a firm enough erection in order to have sexual intercourse.
- Retrograde ejaculation, a change whereby part, or all, of the semen flows through the bladder instead of through the end of the penis during ejaculation.
In women, on the other hand, high sugar levels can cause:
- Vaginal dryness.
- Reduced or nonexistent libido.
- Painful sexual intercourse.
Have you noticed any of these symptoms in yourself? If so, don’t hesitate and visit a doctor as soon as possible.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Hernánez AQ., Granja LL., Sosa AL., Papel de la insulina en el tratamiento de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2. Revista Cubana de Medicina General Integral, 1997.
- Jenkins DW, Jenks A. Exercise and Diabetes: A Narrative Review. J Foot Ankle Surg. 2017 Sep-Oct;56(5):968-974. doi: 10.1053/j.jfas.2017.06.019. PMID: 28842107.
- Islam MA, Amin MN, Siddiqui SA, Hossain MP, Sultana F, Kabir MR. Trans fatty acids and lipid profile: A serious risk factor to cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2019 Mar-Apr;13(2):1643-1647. doi: 10.1016/j.dsx.2019.03.033. Epub 2019 Mar 16. PMID: 31336535.
