Diabetes Symptoms: The Body Parts Can Signal High Blood Sugar

VIVA – Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose) and releases it into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts as a key to letting the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.

With diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Well, here are some body parts that can signal high blood sugar, people need to know.

1. Eyes

High blood sugar levels can affect the blood vessels in the retina, leading to eye-related problems such as blurry vision, cataracts, glaucoma, and most concerning, diabetic retinopathy. Retinopathy involves changes in the retina, which is the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. If left untreated, it can lead to vision loss and blindness in people who have diabetes.

2. Feet

There are two ways diabetes can affect your feet. The first is through nerve damage, which deprives your foot of feeling any kind of sensation.

Secondly, you may experience poor blood circulation in your feet, which makes it difficult for any infection to heal. Over time, if the sores or the infection is not treated, it can even lead to amputation.

Kidneys are an integral part of the body, which helps filter all the toxins and wastes from the body. It comprises tiny blood vessels that help the organ function efficiently.

However, high blood sugar may cause damage to these blood vessels, which can in turn lead to diabetic kidney disease, also known as diabetic nephropathy. Symptoms include: protein in the urine, increased need to urinate, worsened blood pressure control, swelling in the feet, ankles, hands, and eyes, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and more.

Just like diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, high blood sugar can also lead to nerve damage called diabetic neuropathy.

The condition can lead to symptoms including numbness or reduced ability to feel pain or temperature, tingling or burning to feel, sharp pains and cramps, extreme sensitivity to touch and severe foot ulcers, infections, and more.

high blood sugar can cause blood vessel damage, a diabetic is always at an increased risk of cardiovascular complications including stroke and heart disease. In addition, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with diabetes are also more likely to have other conditions that raise the risk for heart disease including high blood pressure.

Gum disease, also called periodontal disease, is a common condition linked to high blood sugar. It usually happens due to clogged or thickened blood vessels that reduce the blood flow to gums, hence weakening the muscles. Furthermore, high blood sugar can also promote the growth of bacteria that usually causes gum disease. Symptoms include bleeding, sensitive, and painful gums.