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What are the complications of diabetes? |
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What are the complications of diabetes?
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Darrell Miller | 04/01/06 |
Date:
April 01, 2006 02:16 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What are the complications of diabetes?
The complications of diabetes happens in both types of the disease. All diabetics complications are caused by chronically high blood sugars. The longer your blood sugar levels are elevated, the greater your chances are of having complications.
Circulation Problems
High blood sugar damages blood vessels. When high levels of sugar are continuously in the blood, the blood vessels become thicker and less flexible, causing poor circulation. Poor circulation can impair healing, especially on the feet and lower legs. High blood sugar also causes higher levels of fat in the blood stream. The fat clogs and narrows the blood vessels. Partial blockages deprive the heart and some necessary nutrients. A complete blockage can result in a heart attack, heart pain (called angina), or stroke.
Nerve damage
Nerve damage makes it hard for your nerves to send messages to the brain and other parts of the body. It may cause you to lose feeling in parts of your body or have a painful pins-and-needles-like feeling. While nerve damage most often affects the feet and legs, it can also affect other parts of the body.
Eye problems
Diabetes can damage and weaken the small blood vessels in the retina, the part of the eye that is sensitive to light and help you see. When the blood vessels are weak, they can leak fluid, which causes swelling in the eye. The swelling blurs your vision. If the eye damage gets worse, your eye attempts to fix this damage by making new blood vessels are fragile, they can break open easily and bleed into the eye. Scar tissue can then form. This may cause the retina to break away from the back of the eye, which lead to visual impairment-even blindness.
Kidney Damage
Diabetes can also damage the blood vessels in the kidney so it cant filter out the body’s waste. High blood pressure is also associated with kidney damage. If you have diabetes and high blood pressure, it is important to keep them both under control as much as possible. The longer blood sugar levels are left uncontrolled, the greater the amount of kidney damage that can occur. If the kidney damage isn’t stopped, some individuals may progress to needing kidney transplants or dialysis machines.
All of these complications however can almost always be prevented.
