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Many people who have diabetes do not know that they have it, making it a serious problem. The American Diabetes Association claims that more than 16 million Americans currently suffer from the condition. Diabetics not only suffer from the disease itself, but can also suffer from its complications, which include heart attack, stroke, renal (kidney) failure, and the need for amputations. Sometimes death can also be a complication. It is estimated that almost 170,000 Americans die a year from the disease.

Diabetes sufferers are either insensitive to the insulin in the body or are not able to produce sufficient insulin. Usually, the food we eat is broken down into glucose. Insulin helps turn the glucose into energy. When one is insensitive or doesn't produce enough insulin, the glucose can't get into the cells where it begins to build up in the bloodstream. If not treated, over time, the diabetes can cause damage to the heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves and blood vessels.

Diabetes is not currently curable; however, it can be successfully treated. Complications can often be lessened or avoided with prompt diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, it is critical to recognize signs of diabetes as soon as they appear. The three kinds of diabetes generally strike at different times of life: Type I will generally develop during childhood or early adulthood, while Type II usually affects adults in their mid-forties or later, and gestational diabetes appears only in pregnant women.

Most of the people diagnosed with the condition known as diabetes suffer from type 1 diabetes. It is vital to consult your doctor if you or your children show symptoms or signs of diabetes. Sometimes, however, there are no visible signs 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.

Juvenile diabetes symptoms are mostly found in children and they may also be restless, apathetic, and have trouble functioning at school. In severe cases, diabetic coma may be the first sign of type 1 diabetes. Frequent urination (in children, a recurrence of bed-wetting after toilet training has been completed), unusual thirst, especially for sweet, cold drinks, extreme hunger, sudden, sometimes dramatic, weight loss, weakness, extreme fatigue, blurred vision or other changes in eyesight, irritability, nausea and vomiting are some of the juvenile diabetes symptoms.