The primary organ involved in the onset of diabetes is the pancreas. However, uncontrolled high blood sugar over time can damage almost every major organ and system in the body, most notably the kidneys, heart, eyes, and nerves.
Diabetes can damage your eyes, heart, nerves, feet, and kidneys due to high blood sugar. Manage diabetes with a proper plan to protect these vital organs. Diabetes is a serious disease that can affect your eyes, heart, nerves, feet and kidneys.
About diabetes – long-term effects
Over time, high blood glucose levels can damage the body's organs. Possible long-term effects include damage to large (macrovascular) and small (microvascular) blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack, stroke, and problems with the kidneys, eyes, gums, feet and nerves.
It develops when your pancreas doesn't make enough insulin or any at all, or when your body isn't responding to the effects of insulin properly. Diabetes affects people of all ages.
Yes, diabetes can cause easier bruising and slow-healing bruises due to high blood sugar damaging blood vessels, affecting skin elasticity (thinning it), and impacting nerve function, which reduces sensation to minor injuries. Poor circulation from diabetes also means bruises take longer to heal because less oxygen and fewer nutrients reach the skin, impairing repair. Bruising can also occur from needles used for glucose monitoring or insulin injections, which can be more noticeable in diabetics.
Common symptoms of diabetes:
Diabetes-related dermopathy looks like small, round pink, reddish or brown patches on your skin. They can look like scars and be indented. They're generally 1 centimeter to 2.5 centimeters in size. The patches are harmless and don't itch, ooze liquid or cause pain.
Diabetes can reduce how well kidneys filter waste, leading to chronic kidney disease. CKD takes a long time to develop and usually doesn't have any signs or symptoms in the early stages.
Chronic pancreatitis symptoms may include:
It's not your fault
You've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes because your body doesn't use insulin well. Because of that, it can't keep your blood sugar at normal levels. There are many factors that can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Having diabetes predisposes people to ischaemic heart disease, which is a key mechanism. In addition, diabetes-specific factors such as hypoglycaemia and cardiac autonomic neuropathy may increase the chances of an irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac death.
How long does it take for kidneys to become affected? Almost all patients with Type I diabetes develop some evidence of functional change in the kidneys within two to five years of the diagnosis. About 30 to 40 percent progress to more serious kidney disease, usually within about 10 to 30 years.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. DR is when high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina (a part of your eye). Damaged blood vessels can swell and leak, causing blurry vision.
The first organs affected by diabetes are often those with a rich supply of small blood vessels. High levels of blood sugar tend to damage the delicate vessels in the kidneys and eyes first, increasing the risk of kidney disease and impacting eye health.
To manage diabetes, avoid sugary drinks, refined carbs (white bread, pasta, rice), processed foods, sweets (candy, cakes), unhealthy fats (fried foods, trans fats, high-fat dairy), and limit red/processed meats, while focusing on fiber-rich, whole foods. Key is to control blood sugar spikes by reducing added sugars, sodium, unhealthy fats, and simple carbs.
Symptoms of hyperglycaemia
The main symptom of chronic pancreatitis is pain in your tummy (abdomen). The pain may be: in the upper part of your tummy (just below your ribs), one side of your tummy or your whole tummy. constant or come and go.
Avoid high-fat foods, such as: Chocolate, whole milk, ice cream, processed cheese, and egg yolks. Fried, deep fried, or buttered foods. Sausage, salami, and bacon.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas, a gland behind the stomach, does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, or the body cannot use insulin properly. Insulin helps carry sugar from the bloodstream into the cells. Once inside the cells, sugar is converted into energy for immediate use or stored for the future.
If the damage gets bad enough, the kidneys can stop working. Kidney damage can't be reversed. And you may not feel it until there's a lot of damage.
End-stage diabetes, also known as late-stage diabetes, occurs when the disease progresses to a point where it significantly impacts the body's ability to function. This stage may involve complications such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage (neuropathy) and chronic infections.
Over time, high blood sugar can injure nerves throughout the body. Diabetic neuropathy most often damages nerves in the legs and feet. Depending on the affected nerves, diabetic neuropathy symptoms may include pain and numbness in the legs, feet and hands.
Changes in blood sugar can cause rapid changes in mood and other mental symptoms such as fatigue, trouble thinking clearly, and anxiety. Having diabetes can cause a condition called diabetes distress which shares some traits of stress, depression and anxiety.
Localized itching is often caused by diabetes. It can be caused by a yeast infection, dry skin, or poor circulation. When poor circulation is the cause of itching, the itchiest areas may be the lower parts of the legs. You may be able to treat itching yourself.