These days it seems most of the population over a certain age has diabetes. It is so common, many people who have it may not think it is important to monitor it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many complications can result from this disease, including some potentially fatal ones. If you have diabetes, it is crucial to be under a doctor’s care and monitor your diet and blood glucose levels.
Diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular complications, including stroke, heart disease and high blood pressure caused by narrowing of arteries. Patients with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer a stroke. According to the American Heart Association, the risk of dying from heart disease is also two to four times higher in patients with diabetes.
Another possible complication of diabetes is kidney failure. Contained in the kidneys are millions of blood vessel clusters which filter waste from the blood. If not cared for, diabetes can damage this filtering system. This can result in having to go on dialysis, end stage kidney disease or needing a kidney transplant.
Poor blood flow to the feet can result in blisters and cuts. This, as well as nerve damage, can lead to serious infections. If left untreated, this can result in having to amputate the foot or limb.
Diabetes increases the risk of serious vision conditions, since it can damage the blood vessels of the retina. Cataracts, Glaucoma and even blindness are complications associated with diabetes. Diabetics should get regular vision exams more often, since their vision can be affected so drastically.
Diabetics are more prone to mouth infections, especially in the gum area. Therefore, it is very important to maintain proper dental hygiene.
Also, diabetes makes sufferers vulnerable to many skin infections, both bacterial and fungal.
When you suffer from diabetes, excess sugar damages the walls of the blood vessels which nourish your nerves. This causes a numbness in your toes or fingers, which usually spreads. Uncontrolled diabetes can cause you to eventually lose all feeling in the entire limb.
A complication from diabetes many of us are not aware of is Alzheimer’s. There is reason to believe Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. Researchers believe this may be caused by several issues. One is cardiovascular problems caused by diabetes contribute to low blood flow to the brain. Another explanation for this is too much insulin in the blood can lead to inflammation in the brain, resulting in brain damage.
Most of us are not aware that diabetics are more prone to certain types of cancer. Researchers started noticing diabetic patients were more likely to get cancer than non-diabetic ones. One of the theories for this is diabetic patients have episodes of very high blood sugar, which might help promote cancer growth.
As we learn more about the risk of Diabetes, it becomes crucial to implement lifestyle changes and monitoring of the disease in order to maintain health. Realizing how seriously diabetes should be taken is a key component of living life safely with diabetes.