Medical Guides

Neither Type 1 (juvenile onset) diabetes nor Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes is curable. We can only control the blood glucose with lifestyle changes and drugs.  However some patients, especially those who do not have any symptoms, stop treatment after some time, assuming that their diabetes is cured. These patients later present with complications of diabetes.

Complications of diabetes
Diabetes is also known as a disease of complications as raised blood glucose can affect the functioning of most of the organs of the body. It may not cause any problems in the initial phases. Poorly managed diabetes can lead to long-term complications such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, and so on. Diabetes is considered as a silent killer. However, if blood sugar is kept as close to normal as possible, than the risk of developing some of these complications can be reduced significantly and their onset can also be delayed.

If, for some reason, the blood glucose decreases to very low levels, even this is dangerous. The complications due to diabetes can be classified into acute and chronic complications.

Acute Complications are:
•    Hypoglycemia
•    Ketoacidosis

Chronic Complications
These develop in long standing diabetes and include: Infections:
•    Recurrent fungal infection (e.g. of the genitals)
•    Recurrent bacterial infections (e.g. of the urinary tract)

Macro vascular Complications:
•    Anginal chest pain or heart attack (Coronary artery disease)
•    Dizziness, paralysis (Cerebrovascular disease)
•    Pain in legs on exertion (Peripheral vascular disease)

Micro vascular Complications:
•    Visual impairment (Retinopathy)
•    High blood pressure, proteinuria (Nephropathy)
•    Decreased sensations and or foot ulcers (Neuropathy) Associated Conditions:
•    Lens in the eyes becomes gradually opaque (Cataracts)