List of Diseases that Come with Diabetes
If you are someone who eats unhealthy, is obese, and likes more sugar in tea or coffee, then you might be at risk of diabetes, or if you already have diabetes, then this article is for you.
Diabetes is a chronic condition that comes with related diseases and, if not controlled, can affect the body’s organs. The diabetes doctor suggests, ‘the longer we have diabetes, the higher is our blood sugar level and the higher is our chances of getting affected by its related risks.’
Diabetes comes with risks like kidney damage (Nephropathy), nerve damage (Neuropathy), eye damage (Retinopathy), heart disease, stroke, foot damage, Alzheimer’s disease, skin and dental problems, and hearing problems.
Let us understand each of these in detail.
- Heart disease and stroke: Diabetes majorly increases the risk of heart problems. These include coronary artery disease with chest pain, stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and narrowing of arteries. 65% of all deaths among persons with diabetes are caused due to heart problems.
- Kidney damage: Kidneys filter waste from the blood through millions of tiny blood vessel clusters. Diabetes can affect this system of filtration. Over time, it can lead to kidney failure or the need for dialysis, or a transplant, suggests the diabetes doctor.
- Nerve damage: High blood sugar can affect the walls of tiny blood vessels that nourish nerves, especially in the legs. The person with diabetes may experience tingling or numb fingers and toes that start at the tips and then spread gradually.
- Eye damage: Diabetes affects the blood vessel of the eye. Long-term diabetes causes such damage leading to cataracts, glaucoma, or blindness. A diabetes doctor in a study explained that every year uncontrolled diabetes results in more than 10000 cases of blindness.
- Anemia: Diabetes usually damages the blood cells. A person with diabetes is likely to face low hemoglobin (Anemia). Moreover, low hemoglobin affects the kidney’s filtration rate, resulting in kidney damage, and may also worsen the eye condition by destroying the blood vessels.
How to increase haemoglobin? The diabetes doctor suggests including foods rich in iron such as Iron-rich bread and cereals, beans and lentils, oysters, green leafy vegetables, especially spinach, red meat, fish, and dried fruit, like prunes, raisins, and apricots in our diet.
- Skin and Dental conditions: Diabetes increases the risk of skin infections like fungal and bacterial infections. Due to access to glucose in saliva, it develops mouth conditions like tooth decay or gum infections. Moreover, a person with diabetes faces frequent infections, which take longer than usual to recover.
- Foot Damage: Diabetes can affect the flow of blood in the feet, causing nerve damage and leading to further serious foot problems.
- Alzheimer’s disease/Dementia: It is a brain disorder that causes loss of memory or thinking and logical ability. People with type 2 diabetes have a higher rate of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Hearing problems: High blood sugar level damages the small blood vessels and the nerves in the inner ear resulting in partial or complete hearing loss.
The above-listed diseases are most common among persons with Type 2 diabetes but may also affect persons with type 1 diabetes in rare cases.
Risks of Gestational Diabetes: Mothers with gestational diabetes deliver healthy babies, but uncontrolled diabetes may lead to some risks.
- In the baby: The baby may develop type 2 diabetes in later life, more weight at the time of birth than usual, have low blood sugar, and in some cases, die just after dawn.
- In mother: The mother may face high blood pressure, excess protein in the urine, swelling in the legs/feet, or gestational diabetes in the subsequent pregnancy.
Gist
Uncontrolled blood sugar level not only causes diabetes but also a variety of problems that may damage your organs. Therefore, it is essential for the person with diabetes to maintain their blood sugar level, eat low-fat and low-carb food, and see a diabetes doctor regularly to avoid these diseases from developing or worsening.
