Diabetescan affect many major organs, including your heart, eyes,kidneys, and brain.
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Heart
Theheartis part of the cardiovascular orcirculatory system.
This body system also includes your blood vessels, which transport oxygen and nutrients to your organs and tissues.
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Your blood vessels also help remove carbon dioxide, toxins, and waste.
There are four main parts of the circulatory system.
CVDs include all types of heart disease,stroke, and blood vessel disease.
People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people without diabetes.
Over time, diabetes can also cause damage to the blood vessels and nerves that control the heart.
The longer you have diabetes, the higher the chances you will develop heart disease.
Each is roughly the size of a fist.
They are part of the renal system, which also includes:
The kidneys work as a filtration system.
They remove waste, extra fluid, and acid from the body.
Healthy kidneys help keep a good balance of water, salts, and minerals in the blood.
The kidneys also producevitamin Dand erythropoietin.Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and promotes a healthy immune system.
Erythropoietin is a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells.
Over time, high blood sugar triggered by diabetes can damage blood vessels in your kidneys.
This jot down of kidney disease is known asdiabeticnephropathy.
If left untreated, diabetic nephropathy can causekidney failure, which can be life-threatening.
Brain
High blood sugar can affect cognition, specifically thinking and memory.
Research has also shown that diabetes can change the structure of your brain.
It plays a role in daily functioning.
Reduced gray matter density or volume can affect a variety of brain and nerve functions.
Diabetes can also damage small blood vessels in the brain.
This can lead tostrokesor the death of brain tissue.
Lungs
Uncontrolled diabetes may reduce lung function.
This can lead to mild complications likeasthmaor more severe complications likepulmonary fibrosis.
Researchers don’t know why people with diabetes can have lung problems.
Some think inflammation may be the root cause.
Some studies suggest thatdrugs that treat low blood sugarmay contribute to lung disease in people with diabetes.
One found that different medications may affect the lungs in different ways.
For example, the common diabetes drugmetforminis thought to work against lung disease, whileinsulinmay make lung disease worse.
Pancreas
Diabetes and thepancreasare closely linked.
This is because your pancreas produces insulin.
Insulin is needed to transport glucose into cells.
High blood sugar can happen when your pancreas doesnt produce enough or any insulin.
bang out 1 diabetes is triggered by inadequate or no insulin production.
Insulin resistance develops as cells do not respond to it adequately.
All this causes a buildup of glucose in the blood, leading to diabetes.
Pancreatic cancercan be a consequence of diabetes, but it can also be the cause.
Mouth and Teeth
Glucose is present in your saliva.
When your diabetes is not controlled, high glucose levels in your saliva help harmful bacteria grow.
These can combine with food to form a soft, sticky film calledplaque.
Some types of plaque cause tooth decay or cavities.
Others causegum diseaseand bad breath.
When you have diabetes, gum disease can be more severe and take longer to heal.
Having gum disease can also make your blood glucose hard to control.
Plaque can harden over time into tartar, making it more difficult to brush and clean between teeth.
When this happens, the gums may become red and swollen, and bleed easily.
These are signs of a gum disease calledgingivitis.
Untreated gingivitis can advance to a gum disease calledperiodontitis.
When you have this condition, the gums pull away from the teeth and form pockets.
These pockets become infected, and the infection can last a long time.
Untreated periodontitis can destroy the gums, bones, and tissue that support the teeth.
Your teeth may become loose and might need to be removed.
Stomach and Small Intestines
High blood sugar levels can damage thevagus nerve.
When you have this condition, your stomach empties food much slower than it’s supposed to.
Eyes
Sometimes, eye symptoms like blurry vision are the first symptoms of diabetes.
Over time, diabetes can lead todiabeticretinopathy.
This condition can cause vision problems and blindness.
These vision problems may be irreversible, and treatment can stop them from progressing to total blindness.
Skin
High blood sugar can cause poor circulation.
This can damage your skin and make it hard for your body to repair wounds.
Anyone can get a skin condition, but certain conditions only happen to people with diabetes.
These include:
Foot ulcersare also common in people with diabetes.
They are typically found on the big toes and balls of the feet and can be mild or severe.
Their severity is usually measured on a scale of 0 to 5.
A possible healed lesion is a 0, while 5 is a severe case ofgangrene(tissue death).
Sexual Organs
Circulatory system damage causes a decrease in blood flow.
This can causeerectile dysfunctionin males with diabetes.
Sperm health also relies on your body’s ability to process glucose.
When you have diabetes, this ability is compromised, which can lead to poor sperm health.
Mature sperm may not be able to fertilize an egg, and they may also be less mobile.
Both males and females with diabetes can experience fertility issues.
In males, diabetes can lead to low testosterone levels.
This can affect sperm count and lead to a decrease in sex drive.
Among females, diabetes can also cause nerve damage that can lead tovaginal dryness.
Blood vessel damage can also result in a lack of blood flow to female reproductive organs.
In females without diabetes, insulin helps drive the production of the hormones that maintain reproductive tissues and regulateovulation.
When you have diabetes, this process doesn’t work as well.
Diabetes has also been linked topolycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS).
This condition is brought on by high testosterone levels.
It can impair ovulation or the release of an egg.
This makes it difficult to get pregnant.
Summary
When you have uncontrolled diabetes, you are at increased risk for several health problems.
Uncontrolled blood sugar can also affect your mouth and teeth, eyes, skin, and sexual organs.
Keeping your blood sugar under control is the best way to avoid these serious health problems.
A Word From Verywell
Having diabetes can be difficult, especially if it’s not controlled.
Diabetes can affect many different organ systems and cause other diseases that negatively affect your health.
If you have diabetes, it is important to follow your treatment plan.
Controlling your diabetes can decrease the risk of developing additional health problems.
There are many treatment options available for both pop in 1 and pop in 2 diabetes.
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