Diabetes is a serious disease, partly because it damages the body and partly because half of those who have it are undiagnosed. The American Diabetes Association counts 16 million Americans with the disease, whose complications can include sight loss, heart attacks, kidney failures, strokes, and loss of limbs. In some extreme cases, diabetes leads to death -- it claims the lives of nearly 170,000 Americans each year.

There are two reasons that diabetes is a problem for the human body, either the body has insensitivity to the insulin produced, or the body cannot produce enough. In a healthy body, glucose is derived from the food we eat and insulin transports it into cells where it provides energy for daily life. Diabetes prevents the glucose from entering the body's cells and thus it simply stays in the blood unable to complete its function. High levels of glucose in the blood can cause damage to many of the body's organs and needs immediate attention.

The good news is that diabetes, while not curable, can be treated. With early diagnosis, many of its complications can be avoided. That's why it's so important to recognize signs of diabetes. There are three types of diabetes- Type I usually affects children and young adults. Type 2 ordinarily affects adults over 45 and Gestational diabetes develops in women during pregnancy.

The most common type of diabetes is type 11. Of the total people who have diabetes, 95 percent have type 11. Even if you have no signs of diabetes, it is safe to consult with a doctor, if your children or any other blood relation has any sign of diabetes.

Some signs of diabetes to look for include intense thirst, excessive drowsiness, frequent urination, blue-tinted vision, increased urination, and persistent weight loss. Although diabetes can appear in anyone, it tends to be more common in African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. The following risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing diabetes: being 20% or more overweight than normal for your height and gender, not getting regular exercise, having a history of diabetes in your family, being a woman who has given birth to a baby that was 9 pounds or heavier when born, or if you are older than 45.

It is in young people that one usually notices the warnings of juvenile diabetes. These kids may be jumpy or listless or may not do well in their schoolwork. When the problem in kids is most serious, the initial signal can be the coma that indicates type 1 diabetes. Some of the other juvenile diabetes pointers are: urinating often, wetting the bed, tremendous thirst (particularly for sugary iced beverages), tremendous appetite, the loss of many pounds, incapacitating tiredness, impaired vision, shortness of temper, queasiness, and retching.

Many people who have diabetes do not know that they have it. Diabetics not only suffer from the disease itself, but can also suffer from complications, including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and amputations. Therefore, it's critical to recognize diabetes signs as soon as they appear. Vision changes, frequent urination, constant thirst, fatigue, and extreme weight loss are all signs of diabetes. There are a variety of juvenile diabetes symptoms, including weight loss, unusual thirst for sweet or cold drinks, hunger beyond normal, weakness, feeling of tiredness, vision changes, irritability, frequent urination or bed wetting, and stomach upset.