Diabetes Complications

Complications of Diabetes:

People with diabetes are at risk of developing a number of complications throughout the body. Complications of diabetes include eye disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, and heart disease, among others. Chances of developing diabetes complications decrease with proper diagnosis and treatment.

Diabetic Eye Disease
Diabetics are at high risk of developing eye disease, leading to a loss of vision, or in severe cases, even blindness. The most common diabetic eye disease is retinopathy. Retinopathy affects the blood vessels in the retina, sometimes causing swelling and the leakage of fluid. This condition could result in decreased vision or blindness. Diabetics are also at a higher risk of developing cataracts and glaucoma.

Diabetic Kidney Disease
Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure. Kidneys damaged by diabetes progressively lose the ability to remove waste from the blood. In the early stages of kidney disease, or nephropathy, small amounts of the protein albumin begin to leak into the urine. Progression of the disease results in larger amounts of albumin leaking into the kidneys. As the disease continues to progress, the kidney's ability to filter out waste decreases and eventually stops. In the last stages of kidney disease, a patient must either undergo dialysis or have a kidney transplant.

Diabetic Neuropathies
Diabetes can cause a number of nerve disorders, or neuropaties, throughout the body over a prolonged period of time. There are four types of neuropathy, including peripheral neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, focal neuropathy and proximal neuropathy. Peripheral is the most common type of neuropathy, affecting the long nerves of the body. Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may include tingling, numbness, burning and pain in the feet and lower legs. Around 60%-70% of people with diabetes develop some type of nerve disorder or neuropathy, especially those who have a difficult time controlling their blood glucose.

Diabetes and Heart Disease
Another of several complications of diabetes includes heart disease. According to statistics, people with diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease than those without diabetes. Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease and stroke. Diabetes affects blood vessels, causing them to narrow, or in some cases, become completely clogged with plaque. This process, called atherosclerosis, hinders blood flow, resulting in possible hemorrhage or the development of a blood clot. If the whole artery becomes blocked, a person is at great risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, due to the oxygen supply being cut off or significantly reduced.

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