Complications of diabetes: How does uncontrolled diabetes affect?

Overview: Diabetes Complication

Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases that influence blood sugar in your body (glucose). Glucose is crucial to your health, as it is a significant source of energy for the muscles and tissues in your cells. It’s the main source of fuel for your brain, too.

The cause of diabetes varies according to type. However, it can lead to excess sugar in your blood, no matter what kind of diabolic you are having. Too much sugar can cause serious health problems in your blood.

Type1 diabetes and Type2 diabetes are chronic conditions. Prediabetes and gestational diabetes are potentially reversible. Prediabetes occurs when the levels of your blood sugar are higher than normal, but not as high as normal for diabetic treatment. And, if adequate actions to prevent progression, prediabetes is often the precursor to diabetes. Gestational diabetes happens during pregnancy, but can resolve after delivery of the baby.

Diabetes people need to monitor and control their blood sugar routinely. Regardless of how careful you may be, a problem is still possible.

You may experience two kinds of complications: acute and chronic. Acute complications need emergency treatment. Hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis are examples.

These conditions may cause, if left untreated:

• Loss of consciousness 
• Death
• Seizures

Chronic complications happen if diabetes is not properly managed. High blood sugar levels result from diabetes. High blood sugar levels, if not well controlled over time, could damage different organs, including:

• eyes
• kidneys
• heart
• skin

Nervous damage can also result from unmanaged diabetes.

What are diabetes-related complications?

Over period, the surge and crash of dissolved glucose and insular disease in many organisms and systems can lead to irreparable damage. Doctors call it “end-organ damage,” because almost any organ system in the body can be affected:

Hypertension (high blood pressure) and Heart Disease

Hypertension in people with type 2 diabetes is almost uniformly found. As blood glucose levels rise, our bodies try to use different ways to reduce their glucose concentration to “normal.” One way that the body tries to do this is by maintaining more fluid in the vessels. This additional fluid increases pressure in the vessels. Increased blood pressure leads, in turn, to a widespread circulatory system weakness. In some extreme circumstances, this can lead to a bursting of blood vessels (e.g. stroke) or develop chronic flow problems in the extremities of the limbs or other peripheral parts of the body. The beginning of atherosclerotic plaques inside blood vessel walls, resulting in a further danger of aneurysm, hypertension, stroke and heart attack, has also led to chronically high level of insulin.

Eye disease

Untreated diabetes can lead to a wide variety of blindness and vision problems. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of acquired blindness among those under the age of 65 years. People with diabetes suffer from blood vessel and nerve damage to the back of the eye, an area known as the retina. This results in the “diabetes retinopathy” condition. Diabetes can also cause abnormal new capillary growth within the retina that decreases blood flow and weakens vision. Vision damage is permanent once it occurs. However, many diabetes-related vision problems may be repaired or avoided as soon as possible. Diabetes individuals should be examined by an eye doctor once annually. Diabetes can prevent eye problems through proper control of their blood glucose, lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol levels.

Oral complications

Diabetes persons are at increased risk of gum inflammation (periodontitis) in cases where glucose is not managed properly. Periodontitis is a major cause of tooth loss and has a high cardiovascular disease risk (CVD). Regular oral checks should also be set up to ensure early diagnosis and quick handling of oral complications in people with diabetes in particular among people with previously diagnosed diabetes. For symptoms of gum disease like bleeding while brushing your teeth or swollen gums, annual visits are recommended.

Kidney Disease (Nephropathy)

The main job of the kidneys is the blood filter. Sugar filtered from the blood damages the blood of your diabetes’ blood vessels over time in your kidneys. The process is referred to as “diabetic nephropathy.” Diabetes can cause insufficient nesting in extreme circumstances, requiring frequent and expensive dialysis (blood filtration) or risky, costly and difficult renal transplantation. The first reason Americans are on dialysis is diabetes. Physicians test the urine for kidney failure for patients with diabetes.

Nerve Damage (Neuropathy)

The blood sugar damages the nervous peripheral system (that part of the nervous system that works the arms, legs and other extremities). In the hands and/or feet the patients affected report pain, tingling, and/or buzzing. Complete engorgement (sensational loss) is common in the limbs too. Patients may lose control of the bladder or their walking ability. Male loss of sexual ability (impotence or erectile dysfunction) can also take place.

Problems with joint and foot

Poor flow of blood into the limb, combined with nerve damage and decreased or deadened sensation lead to limbs (feet, hands) being easily susceptible to damage and illness. Joint damage (which is caused by lack of pain sensation) and feet ulcers is common. Diabetes-related foot and limb problems can usually be helped with correct treatment. However, wounds can become infected and limbs may need amputation without treatment. Diabetes people must conduct self-foot checks daily and must undergo a foot exam once a year by the healthcare professional.

Skin infections

Diabetes can lead to various skin conditions, including infections with fungus (yeasts) and bacteria, a diabetic dermopathy of skin, a wide range of spots and skin rashes. Most of these conditions are related to chronically elevated blood sugar levels, which decrease when blood sugar is controlled. Diabetes individuals are also at increased risk of any kind of infection due to impaired immunity (ability to fight infection). That is why annual flu vaccines and pneumococcal vaccines every five years is important for people who have diabetes.

Cognitive problems

The brain is also affected by diabetes, one of the organ’s most affected by blood sugar fluctuations. Chronic diabetes that is uncontrolled appears to be associated with memory problems and elderly dementia and may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. Elevated blood sugar levels have been observed with increased difficulty with mental arithmetic and decreased mental fluid performance in younger patients with type 1 diabetes. As sugar levels decreased, this slowdown in cognitive activities was reversible.

Erectile dysfunction (ED)

It takes place once blood vessels and nerves are damaged in the penis. One of the major causes of ED for men with diabetes is vascular disease. ED may also appear in certain medications as a side effect. The condition can also occur as the prostate glans or the bladder are affected. It can also come from some lifestyle choices, like smoking and overweight. Or emotionally, stress and anxiety are factors.

Diabetes Gestational Complications

Most women with gestational diabetes give babies healthy. However, your and your baby may have problems with uncontrolled or unchecked blood sugar levels.

Diabetes gestational complications can occur in your baby, along with:

Excess growth: The placenta, which causes the baby pancreas to make an extra insulin, can be crossed by additional glucose. This can make your baby grow too big (macrosomia). Very big babies will require a C section birth more likely.

Low-blood sugar: Moms with gestational diabetes sometimes develop low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) soon after birth, because their own production of insulin is high. Prompt feeds and an intravenous solution of glucose sometimes can normalize the baby’s blood sugar.

Type 2 diabetes later in life: The risk of developing obesity and diabetes type 2 in the future for mothers with gestational diabetes is higher.

Death: Untreated gestational diabetes can cause death of the baby before or soon after birth.

Due to gestational diabetes, complications may also occur in mom, including:

Preeclampsia

High blood pressure, excessive protein in the urine and inflammation of the legs and feet characterize the condition. Preeclampsia could lead both mother and baby to serious or life-threatening complications.

Subsequent gestational diabetes

After you have gestational diabetes during one pregnancy, the next pregnancy will give you more chance of getting it again. Diabetes — typically type 2 diabetes — is also more likely to occur as you get old.

Prediabetes Complications

Prediabetes may become diabetes of type 2.

How to prevent Diabetes Complications

Complications of diabetes can best be avoided by following below steps:

• Diabetes individuals should be alert to symptoms that can cause complications.
• Obtain regular checks: The best way to prevent complications is to discover problems early.
• Keep your healthcare provider appointments: Do so even if you feel good
• Know symptoms and signs of admonition: These include visual difficulties (blurry, spots), extreme fatigue, blue skin colour, obesity, feelings of stupidity and tingling in hands, repeated diseases or slow wound healing, thoracic chest pain, vaginal healing and constant headaches.
• Check your blood sugar levels more than once a day, as your health care provider recommends.
• Control your weight.
• Eat a balanced, healthy diet.
• Get exercise regularly.
• Check for even small cuts or blisters in your feet every day.
• Eliminate Smoking.
• Take medicines for better blood pressure and cholesterol control as prescribed. Don’t take medicines for pain that could harm your kidneys.

Ayurvedic care at EliteAyurveda

As a cure to every illness, concentrate on progressing gradually and keep on encouraging yourself, even if the results are not immediate. The symptoms of diabetes will take some time to turn around, but with moderation and a shift in diet, workout, and lifestyles, your clients are able to cure diabetes and live a long and stable life.- Dr. Soumya Hullannavar

Our supportive EliteAyurveda specialists will assist you with diabetes-related health issues.

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