WHAT DOES IT CONSIST OF?
Diabetics have more tendencies than other people to have:
• Myocardial infarctions
• Hemiplegia
• Vision problems that can lead to blindness
• Kidney diseases
• Amputation of a leg or a foot (through surgery)
• Frequent infections
• Sexual dysfunction problems
All are really serious problems. Thinking about these problems could be one of the most difficult aspects that the diabetic must face.
A LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS
Knowing these complications can help them act in a positive way. Knowing how to discover problems on time and how to treat them can help them deal with their fears.
EYE DAMAGE
The back is the retina. Retinal damage is called retinopathy. It rarely affects vision until it is very severe. The only way to determine the damage to the eyes at the beginning is through a complete examination of the eye, allowing the examining physician to see the small vessels that are in the back of the eye.
KIDNEY DAMAGE
The kidneys filter the blood and remove waste products from the body through the urine. Nephrons have several very small blood vessels that can be damaged due to high blood sugar and high blood pressure. This type of kidney damage, called nephropathy, has no early symptoms. The only way to determine in time if the kidneys have been damaged is through special blood and urine tests. If the damage persists, the kidneys may stop working. When these stop working, the waste products must be extracted from the blood with a machine (Dialysis) that does the work of filtering the kidneys.
DAMAGE TO BLOOD VESSELS
Diabetes can damage large blood vessels, or arteries, that supply the heart (causing myocardial infarction) and lead to the arms, legs and head (causing cardiovascular accidents)
HOW THE DAMAGE OCCURS
Scars form inside the arteries, making them stiff and hard. Blood cholesterol attaches to places where there are scars, over time, arteries become clogged. The heart has to work harder to pump blood through the clogged vessels. This can lead to heart attacks, hemiplegia, blood pressure and insufficient blood circulation in the arms, legs and head. Damage to large blood vessels shows very few symptoms at an early stage. Early treatment of high blood pressure and cholesterol as well as diseases of blood vessels can help slow or prevent more serious problems.
NERVE DAMAGE
Diabetes can also damage nerve cells. The medical term of this lesion is Neuropathy. Over time, the nerves lose the ability to send signals through the body as it should. Nerve damage can cause tingling, numbness, burning, pain, or pounding of the feet and lower legs. In other cases, no pain is felt when wounds, bumps and other foot injuries occur. Symptoms of Neuropathies are not always constant. Many people say that the pain feels less when the blood sugar level is close to normal.
HOW TO REDUCE LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS
Some diabetic patients never develop any of these problems, others may have only one of them. While some may have several complications. It has been clearly shown that keeping blood sugar as close to normal as possible is an important protection against the long-term complications of diabetes. When good control is maintained for years, the risk of eye, kidney, blood vessel, and nerve problems decreases substantially.
The risk can be further reduced if:
Controls blood pressure
Decrease levels of fats in the blood
Perform regular eye and kidney tests to detect any problems on time
Quit smoking