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| Diabetes |
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| Complications
Of Diabetes |
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| Poorly controlled diabetes often leads to complications
such as acute and chronic complications: |
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| Acute complications |
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| Acute complications develop over a short period
of time and can be quite sudden. The causes of these complications
can be due to dangerously high or low blood sugar level. |
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Diabetic Ketoacidosis
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Diabetic ketoacidosis usually
occurs in insulin dependent diabetes patients who miss
their insulin injections or when they are sick. |
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In diabetic ketoacidosis, you will suffer
from severe dehydration, a fairly high blood sugar level
>15mmol/L with urine/or blood ketones present. It is
always an emergency and requires immediate medical attention. |
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Hyperosmolar Nonketotic diabetic
coma
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Hyperosmolar Nonketotic
diabetic coma usually happens to the elderly diabetics
and always associated with an underlying cause such as
infection. |
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Patient suffering from hyperosmolar
Nonketotic will have very high blood sugar level>33.3mmol/l,
severe dehydration and will very likely in coma. |
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This is an emergency situation and will
require hospitalisation. |
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| Chronic Complications |
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| Persistent high blood glucose level can damage the
small and large blood vessels in the body, such as the eyes (retinopathy),
kidneys (nephropathy), nerves (neuropathy) and heart. |
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Retinopathy
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Diabetic retinopathy is
caused by changes in the small blood vessels in the retina
of the eye. |
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The retina is the area of the eye that
receives images and sends information about the images
to the brain. |
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It is one of the common causes for blindness.
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The treatment for retinopathy is laser
therapy. |
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Studies demonstrated that maintenance
of blood glucose to a normal or near-normal level would
lower the risk for development of retinopathy. |
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Nephropathy
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Nephropathy refers to kidney
damage. |
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People with diabetes account
for approximately 40% of patients with end-stage renal
disease usually require dialysis. |
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High blood pressure is another
important factor leading to a decline in kidney function.
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Strict blood pressure together with
blood glucose control can help prevent and slow down the
process of kidney failure. |
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Neuropathy
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Neuropathy refers to nerve
damage. |
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It most commonly affects the legs. Initial
symptoms include:
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Prickling and tingling. |
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Burning sensations (especially at
night). |
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Numbness. |
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These patients will have
an increased risk for injury and undetected foot infections.
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50% to 75% of lower extremity amputations
are performed on people with diabetes. |
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Heart Attack
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Diabetics have 2 to 4 fold
high risk of getting heart attack compared to non-diabetics.
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The risk is increased with the presence
of smoking, high blood pressure and raised blood cholesterol.
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There is evidence that good blood glucose,
cholesterol and blood pressure control prevent and improve
the outcome for heart attack. |
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