Identification

• Diabetes prevents the body from regulating the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream. Insulin is the hormone that is used by the body to make sure that the glucose, or sugar, in the body is properly distributed. An overabundance of glucose in the blood can result in dangerously low energy levels in the body's cells, which can lead to damage of internal organs such as the heart, eyes and kidneys.
  
  

Effects

• Too much sugar in the bloodstream can result in a variety of conditions, including heart disease and stroke, loss of vision, kidney problems that can lead to urinary infections and a yellowing of the skin referred to as jaundice, permanent nerve damage and limb amputation. Men may also experience sexual conditions such as erectile dysfunction.
  
  

Potential

• The symptoms of diabetes in men can sometimes seem harmless at first. Some of these early symptoms include a frequent urge to urinate, excessive hunger or thirst, an unexplained weight loss and a feeling of fatigue or drowsiness. As the condition progresses, men may also notice that they become easily irritated, they have a constant anxious feeling and they experience temporary vision problems such as blurred vision or double vision.
  
  

Considerations

• Some of the symptoms associated with diabetes can occur with more severity in men. The vision problems could progress to a condition of total blindness. Men are also more inclined to feeling the symptoms of heart problems associated with diabetes, such as pain in the thigh and buttocks area immediately after a physical workout. Men also face a risk of limb amputation as a result of diabetes-related complications that is nearly three times higher than a woman's risk.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• Men should consider taking steps to decrease their chances of contracting diabetes. Some of the things men can do to help lower their diabetes risk is to exercise regularly to help stay in shape and lose weight, reduce or quit cigarette smoking, quit or reduce the consumption of alcohol and reduce their intake of sugars in such foods as soda pop and candy.