If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, knowing how it affects the body can help you understand why it is so important to manage it properly. It also helps you understand when diabetic complications start developing, so you can manage them or seek additional medical help. Many of the complications and effects we will discuss below stem from an inability to regulate blood glucose levels, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, or a combination of all of them.
Understanding Common Signs of Diabetes
If you have not been diagnosed with diabetes, you need to know its symptoms if you are at risk. These include blurred vision, fatigue, tingling sensation in the legs, hands, or feet, increased thirst, and frequent urination.
A combination of these symptoms indicates you need to go for a checkup. A diabetes diagnosis is done by checking your glucose levels in a blood test. Doctors get these results rather quickly and efficiently using high-quality diagnostic tools from suppliers like medical-supermarket.com.
Once you get your diagnosis, you will be required to keep an eye on your glucose levels to avoid complications. So, which complications are common, and how does diabetes affect the body?
Effects on The Circulatory System
High blood glucose levels can lead to fatty deposits in various blood vessels. These deposits restrict blood flow as they increase over time, leading to the thickening of the affected blood vessels and atherosclerosis (narrowing of the blood vessels).
The resulting high blood pressure and cholesterol raise the risk of strokes and heart disease.
How Diabetes Affects The Eyes
One of the most common complications of diabetes is known as diabetic retinopathy. Retinopathy occurs when the blood vessels in the retina (the back of the eye) swell and leak. High blood pressure caused by the effects of diabetes on the circulatory system can also lead to diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic retinopathy is treatable as long as it is caught early and not progressed too much. Retinopathy screenings for those with diabetes and at risk can help with this. The NHS provides these services for free once a year.
Kidney Damage
Diabetes can also damage the kidneys, leading to diabetic nephropathy. This condition vastly reduces your body’s ability to filter waste and can, therefore, lead to additional complications. Kidney damage is suspected if there is a higher-than-normal amount of protein in your urine. This is a clear sign that your kidneys are not working as expected.
What makes diabetic nephropathy so devastating is that it is often not caught until it has progressed to the later stages. Close and regular monitoring can help with early detection, helping prevent kidney damage or failure.
Effects On The Nerves
Diabetes can also cause neuropathy – damage to the nerves. This is very serious because nerves control sensation in all parts of the body.
Conclusion
Diabetes is manageable, and your doctor will advise you on what to do if you are diagnosed with the condition. Proper management is critical to avoid the complications discussed above.
