Many different health complications come from diabetes. Specifically, the blood sugar levels caused by diabetes. Most of the health problems come from poor diabetes management. This is why good diabetes management is so important. Great diabetes management like eating well and exercising can prevent most diabetes health complications. For these diabetes health complications, it is good to know what can be done to limit the chances of them happening. As well as know what can be done to limit the pain for you to continue living a great and active lifestyle.
What are the most common diabetes health complications?
Uncontrollable high blood sugar levels can cause a multitude of health problems which can cause anywhere between a minor inconvenience or death. Again, this is why good diabetes management is important because while diabetes alone will not cause most of these health complications, uncontrolled diabetes is still the root cause.
Neuropathy
This is just a more technical term for nerve damage. This is a very common diabetes health complication and over 50 percent of people with diabetes have it. The nerve damage mainly occurs in the hands and/or feet with symptoms that include tingling, numbness, and pain. While there are many different causes of this one of the major causes is long periods of high blood sugar levels. Regular exercise such as walking can help with the pain caused by this complication.
Kidney Disease
According to the American Diabetes Association, high blood sugar levels cause the kidneys to work too much to filter blood. Therefore, the kidneys build up waste faster causing the kidneys to not work. For more information on treatment visit ADA’s page here.
Diabetic Retinopathy
This is another technical term that just means vision problems caused by diabetes. This is caused by uncontrolled blood sugar levels. The symptoms are blurry vision and if left untreated a loss of vision. To learn more about this complication and learn about some possible treatments listen to this podcast here.
Heart Disease
There is a link between diabetes and heart-related conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This is because high blood sugar levels damage the heart and surrounding arteries. This is why diabetic people are 2 times more likely to have a stroke or heart disease. Too much glucose in the body can lead to clogged arteries. So, while you are monitoring your blood sugar levels it is a good idea to also monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Sleep Apnea
This is a common problem among people with type-2 diabetes especially if they are overweight. This is when breathing is interrupted multiple times when sleeping. This can cause loud snoring or a person to stop breathing. A healthy diet and exercise to lose weight is a great way to prevent sleep apnea.
Skin Conditions
People with diabetes are more likely to develop a skin condition and there are some diabetes-related skin conditions over the more general skin conditions. These skin conditions are noticeable because there are usually colored bumps or raised skin are developed or blisters. Skin conditions are caused because high blood sugar levels increase dry skin and lower the ability to fight off bacteria. Therefore, it is best to keep skin moisturized, dry, and clean. As well as check feet every day because they are a high risk for skin disease.
How to prevent diabetes health complications?
Have a good diabetes management plan. Of course, this may sound simple, but by managing your blood sugar levels you can prevent the health problems listed above. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels cause most of the diabetes health conditions. So, the best way to prevent the complications above is to make sure to keep the blood sugar levels at a safe level. Make sure to eat healthily, check out this blog post about great diabetes diets, stay active, and monitor yourself or go to a health professional.