Consequences Of Diabetes

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that can affect the body directly or can cause other kind of illnesses or complications as a consequence of the initial disease. There are several clinical discussion have been made on the direct affects of diabetes on the body and also the complications that may occur. It is believed that complications from diabetes can be minimized if the proper care is received for diabetes so people should also know the best way to manage and treat diabetes.

The disease diabetes strongly affects the beta cells in the islet cells within the pancreas. In type-1 diabetes the pancreatic cells are destroyed by the body because the body thinks they are pathogens. The beta cells help to create insulin. Insulin is used to convert glucose in the blood to glycogen in the fat, muscle and liver cells and thus reduce the level of glucose in the blood as a derivative. Without insulin the glucose level cannot be reduced and this condition leads to hyperglycemia. In type 2 diabetes the body grows insulin resistance. This means the body can still produce insulin but the body needs more insulin to deal with that amount of blood sugar levels or the insulin is simply ineffective. This will also lead to high glucose levels in the blood which is medically termed as hyperglycemia.

Classic symptoms of hyperglycemia are, Polydipsia or frequent or sudden thirst; Polyuria or frequent urination and Polyphagia or frequent or sudden hunger. Other symptoms may include fatigue, blurred vision, dryness of the mouth or itchiness all over the body and significant weight loss. High blood sugar levels are treated by injecting insulin from out side into the body. If insulin is not been injected this can lead to diabetic keto-acidosis. If there is no insulin in the body, the glucose in the blood cannot be transformed into energy and thus the body start to look for energy elsewhere in the system. Body essentially starts to use parts of the system as an energy source. If this condition goes undetected the sufferer can go into a coma. It is probably one of the most serious consequences of diabetes and can lead the patient to death.

Chronic high blood sugar levels are also believed to be bad for the blood vessels and the heart function. These kinds of conditions are broken down into macro vascular and micro vascular diseases. Macro vascular diseases are actually related to the heart and the larger blood vessels like the arteries. It is believed that the excessive sugar in the blood vessels causes the lining of the blood vessels to make it scored and rough which in turn causes fatty substances to stick to the lining. This can lead to thickening of the artery walls which is known as atherosclerosis. This can lead to numerous complications including heart disease and even strokes or heart attacks. It can also lead to deprived circulation of the blood in general.



Poor circulation of blood is primarily responsible for most of the micro vascular diseases. Micro vascular diseases are related to the small blood vessels like the capillaries that supply blood to the nervous system, eyes and extremities of the body. As the circulation becomes worse these parts of the body do not get the required nutrients that blood supplies and begin to have problems.

• John Palsson
• 26/11/2008, 6:59 PM
• 0 Comments