Diabetes comes in different forms No one ever wants their doctor to utter the word"diabetes."Unfortunately, such a diagnosis is more common than you might think, as 2005 alone witnessed 1.5 million new cases of diabetes in people over the age of 20.According to theAmerican DiabetesAssociation (ADA),7 percent of the U.S. population suffers from diabetes,with nearly one-third of that number (6.2 million) unaware they have the disease. Such a high number of people unknowingly having such a deadly disease makes recognizing the symptoms of diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, all the more important. Here are the distinctions between the types of diabetes and their respective warning signs and symptoms, courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic,one the world's largest and busiest health centers. Type 1 diabetes Previously known as juvenile diabetes, in type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin enables the body to use sugar,which, in turn,acts as fuel for a body's cells. Insulin's chief function is to take sugar from the blood and into the cells.Those suffering from type 1 diabetes are most often children and young adults, and will likely exhibit one, if not more,of the following symptoms: • Increased thirst. If you notice your child or loved one is regularly thirsty, even when he hasn't eaten or has just had a drink, this could indicate the onset of type 1 diabetes.Dry mouth is a similar indicator and also is a chief symptom of type 1 diabetes. • Unexplained weight loss.This occurs even if your child or loved is eating regularly and still feels hungry.A healthy child with a balanced diet should not be experiencing significant weight loss unless he is making a lifestyle change, so if your child is losing weight despite a previously healthy lifestyle and continued healthy diet, a trip to the doctor is in order. • Frequent urination. Numerous trips to the bathroom should cause some concern. • Blurred vision.A telltale sign of diabetes is the onset of eye problems, which are mainly characterized by blurred vision. If a trip to the eye doctor comes up empty,diabetes might be the culprit. • Fatigue. Feeling weak or tired is not a healthy characteristic for a child or young adult. If you or a loved one is experiencing sluggishness or feelings of drowsiness, consult a physician. • Headaches.Another symptom that should stand if a child is suffering it. Headaches generally don't plague children, so these should set off some alarm bells. Unfortunately, these symptoms will not always make diabetes apparent, as the disease does go undiagnosed in a great many patients. Side effects of type 1 diabetes are not pretty, either, so err on the side of caution should you see your child or loved one suffering from any of these symptoms.Among the side effects of type 1 diabetes is a greater chance of heart disease, including a greater risk of heart attack and stroke thanks to poor circulation.Kidney damage is also a frightening side effect of type 1 diabetes, as a sufferer's kidneys can succumb to nephropathy, a condition where the kidneys are unable to filter out waste, leading to kidney failure. Nerve damage, an increased likelihood of blindness as well as other eye ailments and a host of foot complications are also common and painful side effects of type 1 diabetes,making the disease's early diagnosis all the more helpful. Type 2 diabetes The more common form of diabetes, type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin that is produced. Type 2 is more common inAfricanAmericans, Latinos,NativeAmericans and AsianAmericans/Pacific Islanders, according to theADA. It is also the type most associated with the elderly. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include the following: • Slow-healing sores or cuts.Cuts that continue to bleed along with sores that take prolonged periods of time to heal are an indication of something bigger, which could be type 2 diabetes. • Itchy skin.This is typically in the groin or vaginal area, and persistent itchiness should not be passed off merely as an annoying rash. • Recent weight gain. Unlike sufferers of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes causes weight gain. If your eating and exercise habits have not changed yet you seem to be gaining weight,passing it off as part of the aging process can prove to be a fatal mistake. Such a gain should be reported to your physician, and a visit and further diagnosis is encouraged. • Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet.A chief problem many sufferers of diabetes exhibit is poor circulation, a telltale sign of which is numbness in the extremities. • Decreased vision. Like those suffering from type 1 diabetes, sufferers of type 2 will experience problems with their eyesight.A developing inability to see things clearly is not necessarily a sign of old age, especially for younger people suffering from decreased vision. A trip to the eye doctor might be on call, but consulting a physician is a good precaution to take as well. Just like type 1 diabetes, type 2 has several negative consequences as well. For instance, even those who are doing their best to treat their type 2 diabetes might still suffer from hypoglycemia,or low blood sugar.Hyperglycemia,or high blood glucose, eventually affects all sufferers of diabetes, regardless of type.This can result from a number of things,be it giving yourself too little insulin (for sufferers of type 1 diabetes) or having sufficient insulin,which is just proving ineffective (type 2). Unfortunately,no cure exists for diabetes. Such an alarming reality makes knowing these symptoms and taking them seriously, even if you feel you're in the best of health, at all times an absolute necessity.