Diabetes Complications - How They Can Be Avoided

Just like any other diseases, diabetes has complications. In fact, diabetes has a mortality rate of around 200,000 deaths in the United States alone, that is according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most deaths were attributable to diabetes complications mainly because the fatalities lacked awareness.

Diabetes is a disease in the blood sugar of the body. This is the result of the inability of the pancreas to produce a substantial amount of insulin. Insulin is responsible in the control of blood sugar. If there will be an imbalance of insulin, diabetes can occur resulting to high blood sugar level.

Tiny insulin factories called beta cells are in charge of maintaining the exact proportion of insulin in relation to the number of glucose (sugar) in the blood level. These tiny insulin factories direct the body to gather the sugar in order for the blood sugar to return to its normal level. Otherwise, diabetes will crop up if disparity arises.

As a form of illness, diabetes has many complications:

1. It can damage the artery which may lead to:

a. Cardiovascular disease- 65% of deaths among diabetics is heart attack or stroke. This can be reduced if proper maintenance will focus on the blood sugar and blood pressure.

b. Kidney disease- Failure to properly monitor the blood pressure and blood sugar may end up to kidney failure.

c. Amputations- Regular check-ups and patient education regarding foot care should be a habit of diabetics. Diabetes delays the healing process of wounds, making it vulnerable for bacterial infections to thrive.

d. Sexual Dysfunction- Stress and medications for diabetes affect the sexual functions of diabetics.

e. Blindness or eye disease- Eye disease brought by diabetes can lead to loss of vision or diabetic retinopathy. The blood vessels of the retina is damaged in the case of diabetic retinopathy.

2. Nerve damage that may cause:

a. Peripheral neuropathy- The feet will experience loss of feeling which can cause foot ulcers or infections which may even lead to amputations.

b. Dizziness- When you have diabetes, the circulation of blood movement is affected. There is the inability of the body to signal the flow of blood from the toes to the torso especially when changing positions from sitting to standing.

c. Stomach or bowel dilemma- The nerves responsible for the normal movement of the stomach become less active which may result to diarrhea, constipation or nausea.

d. Nerve failure- The function of a single muscle may be affected resulting to double vision or bell's palsy as examples.

e. Sexual function- Since the nerve is affected, impotence can be a factor of complications.

3. Others like flu, pneumonia, complications in pregnancy or hypoglycemia.

The above diabetes complications can drastically affect the quality of life of the sufferer. Oftentimes, it could even shorten the life span of a sufferer. As a precautionary measure, always see a doctor if you experience anything unusual.