Type 2 diabetes is a condition that causes other several, sometimes embarrassing conditions. Some of them are quite taboo in normal society, but type 2 diabetics should know by now that their lives are anything but normal. So, please don’t be shy about asking your doctor embarrassing questions about type 2 diabetes. Trust us, as healthcare experts, your doctor’s probably already seen and heard a lot of crazy things relating to diabetes.

If you’re still too shy to ask your doctor, however, have we got the article for you. We’ve compiled five frequently asked questions that can be embarrassing to ask about type 2 diabetes.

1. Why is My Crotch So Itchy?

If your crotch is itchy, that’s likely due to a yeast infection. This is when a fungus takes residency in your vagina. Over 75% of women experience yeast infections at least once in their lifetimes due to various reasons. Taking antibiotics, for example, can cause yeast infections because the antibiotics kill bacteria in the vagina that kill the fungus. Having diabetes can also cause yeast infections because the immune system isn’t well-equipped to fight against the fungus!

What’s more, excess sugar in the blood can line the mucus in your vagina. This is good food for the fungus.

To treat a yeast infection, visit your doctor. They can prescribe you antifungal medications like creams and pills to help kill the fungi.

2. Why Can’t I Get an Erection?

Diabetes often causes damage to your blood vessels and nerves, including the ones located in a man’s penis. As proper blood flow is needed to get the penis erect, and blood can’t properly flow to a diabetic man’s penis, erections thus rarely happen. Indeed, men who have diabetes are thrice as likely to develop erectile dysfunction than men without diabetes. Additionally, more than half of male diabetics end up getting erectile dysfunction, affecting their sex lives.

3. Why Am I Always Leaking Urine?

When you have diabetes, your kidneys have to work double-time to get rid of the excess sugar in your blood. It does this by flushing it out into your urine, no questions asked. This is why the earliest symptoms of diabetes are often the need to urinate frequently. And if you don’t urinate as soon as possible in a toilet, your body will do it for you by urinating anyway, even if you’re in bed asleep.

Another reason you’re having urinary incontinence is irreversible damage to your bladder. This is the organ that holds your pee as it gets full, so if that gets affected, your ability to hold pee is also affected.

Don’t worry—it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, at least 89% of diabetics end up having issues with their bladders at least once, with women being twice as likely to experience it than men.

4. Why Do My Toenails Look So Gross?

Thick, misshapen, and yellow toenails affect one in every three people with diabetes. That’s because when someone’s blood sugar level is poorly managed, it can create environments like in your toenails where fungi and bacteria, and viruses can grow and flourish. It’s very easy for these areas to remain gross because of weakened immune systems.

While gross toenails don’t seem like a big deal, it actually is a big deal. Infections in the feet are harder to treat by themselves, and if you just let it be, the infection could grow. This could then lead to amputation as a worst-case scenario! This is why you should always consult with a foot doctor regularly.

5. Why Do I Have Bad Breath?

As we mentioned earlier, having diabetes affects our immune system negatively. It’s not as effective at fighting off bacterial or viral infections. So, when our teeth and our gums are riddled with lots of bad bacteria because of the food we eat, the bacteria stay there longer than they normally would. This then causes a host of dental problems like cavities, bleeding gums, and—you guessed it—bad breath.

Additionally, sometimes when your body doesn’t get the energy it needs from sugar, it gets it from fats instead. This puts your body into ketosis as the liver releases ketones into the blood. And according to some, ketosis can make your breath have a strange, fruity smell.