Complications from Diabetes

Diabetes is an insidious disease which can often lie undetected for many years and can cause very serious complications. These include cataracts, blindness, nephropathy, and thrombosis. Many treatments can and should be given to help give any person who suffers from this condition the chance of a normal life.

Side effects of diabetes include nausea, tiredness, and palpitations. However, the most frequent side effects for the diabetic person are hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, serious conditions which can cause induce coma in the diabetic person. In the long term, more serious diabetes complications include blindness, infarction, limb amputation and renal diseases. However there are currently many available treatments that allow a diabetic to lead a healthy life. Diabetics should be encouraged to take advantage of these treatments and seek medical advice immediately upon suspecting that anything is wrong.

Until insulin was discovered, type 1 diabetes always proved fatal. Now with the discovery of insulin and other remedies people with type 1 diabetes can live a long and fruitful life. In western countries the main cause of blindness and renal disease is the result of incorrect diabetes care. Diabetics are also more sensitive than non-diabetics to specific oral and gynecological infections because the bacteria involved in these infections like sugar. A diabetics feet are particularly fragile and problem-prone. In diabetic people, wounds can lead to abscesses, even gangrene; this then results in amputation of the infected limbs.

Especially when the person''s diabetic state is not well looked after, chronic hyperglycemia, over a period of time, gradually damages the small blood vessels in the kidneys and eyes, as well as the nerves. Over the years, this eventually leads to a failing of these specific organs. Certain blood vessels are prone to blockage in a diabetic. Therefore in a diabetis, certain parts of the body, such as the heart and lungs do not receive an adequate supply of blood. The person can die as a result of this. Also as previously-stated, permanent excess blood sugar leads to complications such as renal insufficiency, blindness and neuropathy of the legs.

Fainting or coma caused by hyperglycemia are usually acute complications of diabetes type 1. These situatations also occur in people suffering from hypoglycemia. Both conditions are due to insulin not injected or an insufficient dose being given, respectively. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a diabetic person is hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic. One excellent method to determine their proper state is to smell their breath. You will find sweet breath present in a person suffering from a hyperglycemic condition. This is the result of ketones in the body being burned for fuel. When the body can no longer use glucose as fuel, this condition is known as acidic ketosis. This occurs when sugar can not penetrate the cells because of the absence of insulin. The cells are then savaged, resulting in abnormally massive ketone degradation. Ketones are the human body''s toxic waste. Untreated, it results in coma and eventually premature death.

David Brown writes for several popular online magazines, on wellness tips and health advice subjects.