Silent killers are often overlooked due to their minor symptoms in the beginning. The saying: “Out of sight, out of mind” could not be more accurate when it comes to diabetes, hepatitis and hypertension.
These conditions often do not show immediately, but if they are left untreated, they can become life-threatening. Below, we look at these silent killers along with their symptoms:
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, which shows very few, if any, symptoms. Many people are unaware that they are living with the disease. If left untreated, it can become deadly.
Symptoms: Stomach pain, extreme nausea and vomiting, discoloured urine, high fever and yellowing of skin tone (jaundice).
Hypertension
Hypertension is high blood pressure, which affects every 4 in 10 adults worldwide. This means there are billions of people who have hypertension, and about 50% are unaware of it.
Symptoms: Dizziness, blood spots in the eyes, and, in rare cases, frequent nosebleeds and extreme headaches.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a disorder which is broken up into type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is when your body battles to produce insulin, and Type 2 is when the body cannot use insulin effectively. The symptoms can be mild, so it is easy for an individual to miss them.
Symptoms: Extreme fatigue, more frequent urination, being more hungry or thirsty than normal, dry mouth, itchy skin, blurred vision, sores or cuts that take longer than usual to heal and pain or numbness in the feet.
Visit your GP if you notice any of the above symptoms for any of the 3 conditions.
For information on what we have to offer, visit our gap cover insurance page.
