Diabetes Can Cause Damage To Body Organs

Uncontrolled Diabetes damages organs like eyes, kidneys and the nerves. Blood circulation can be a problem with diabetes because high blood sugar, high blood pressure, overweight and high cholesterol associated with Diabetes cause stiffening of arteries and slow down circulation.

How to assess Diabetic eye disease?

Diabetes damage to eyes can be to the extent to blindness and early detection and timely treatment can prevent that. At the beginning you may not have symptoms, so the only way is to check the eye (the back of eye called retina). If you have Diabetes and are seeing an eye specialist you must tell that you have Diabetes. The specialist will do the required check.

Foot care in people with Diabetes

Problem with feet is very common in case of uncontrolled Diabetes. The problem is threefold here:

1. Nerve damage due to diabetes, so that you don"t feel in case of injury
2. Poor circulation so that healing is poor
3. Infection, because of uncontrolled sugar. Infection can spread very quickly in Diabetes and can give rise to general sepsis. It is important to seek expert opinion as soon as you see some problem.

Regular foot care is very important. Particular care should be taken to keep the feet clean and dry. You should cut the nails regularly and apply moisturiser cream to prevent dryness and cracking which can the entry point for infection.

What are the warning signs of foot problem in Diabetes?

There are certain features when patient with Diabetes should consult doctor without wasting time. They are redness, unusual pain, ulcer or cut, swelling and change of colour in feet. Delay in getting treatment may lead to gangrene. Pain in legs after walking and improvement with rest is called claudication (similar to angina of the heart) is a sign of lack of blood supply in the legs and should be checked on urgent basis.

How to check for Diabetic Kidney?

Kidney damage due to diabetes will not show any early symptoms and that is why a routine yearly check is necessary. The simple things are to check urine for protein and blood. Protein starts leaking in urine when the kidneys are affected with Diabetes. More and more leak of protein by the kidney leads to kidney failure. We have treatment available now for reducing this leakage and protecting the kidneys. Ultrasound scan of the kidney is NOT helpful for diagnosis of Diabetic kidney disease.

Damage caused by Diabetes, if not diagosed early can lead to serious problems. Thus, complete body checkup is very important for a Diabetes patient.