The consequences of diabetes are too little known. However, according to the French Association of Diabetics, there are among the patients more than 30,000 amputees, 35,000 blind and 300,000 victims of infarction. VSComplications to the eyes, nerves, heart: The effects of unattended diabetes can be severe. In particular, the disease triples the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes: take care of the heart
Diabetes affects the large vessels that supply blood to the heart, neck or legs. These attacks are called macroangiopathy. By what mechanism? Fat deposits accumulate on the walls of the arteries, the phenomenon being even accentuated by hypertension, smoking or a diet too high in fat. Over time, these deposits harden, breaking or forming clots (thrombosis).
By clogging the arteries, they can cause heart attacks (myocardial infarction if it is the artery supplying the heart). Another consequence: strokein case of arterial hypertension. Diabetics are 2 to 3 times more exposed to these vascular or cerebral damage.
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Diabetes: watch out for your eyes!
People with diabetes can also suffer from changes in the small blood vessels at the end of arteries called capillaries.
Alteration of the capillaries of the retina (retinopathy) is very common since 50% of type 2 diabetics are affected. It is the leading cause of blindness before the age of 65 in France. The paradox is that it is possible to have good eyesight and be with diabetic retinopathy. However, there are warning signs such as distorted images or letters when reading or a feeling of haze.
An annual ophthalmologic examination is therefore vital to be able to detect this alteration before it reaches the center of the eye and the retina with irreparable damage.
Read also : Diabetic retinopathy: a new avenue to protect against blindness
Diabetes: fragile nerves
Damage to the nerves, or neuropathy, is very common, and even more so when the diabetic gets older. The repercussions depend on the type of nerves affected.
• In the case of motor nerves, muscle strength will be affected.
• In the sensory nerves, the patient will suffer from pain and disorders (cramps, itching, poor perception in the position of the legs).
• In the case of an attack of the vegetative nervous system, disorders of the digestive system are noticed (diarrhea, constipation) as well as of the cardiovascular system (feeling of dizziness when standing up) or the genital and urinary system (erectile dysfunction, impotence, incontinence or urinary retention).
When neuropathy reduces sensitivity to pain, it delays the detection of the pathology by the same amount, making a foot injury painless, for example.
Read also : Type 1 diabetes increases the risk of digestive cancer
Diabetics with clay feet
Complications of the feet are a direct result of the deterioration of nerves and arteries. They are not to be neglected because a simple injury at the start harmless will amplify, become infected. Management too late, amputation will then be the last resort.
A study identified 8000 amputations per year, toes or feet. It is therefore important to pay regular attention to your feet and know how to quickly spot ingrown toenails, yeast infection (infections due to fungi), light wounds, horn causing cracks and crevices… The shoes must also be carefully chosen for their comfort and carefully inspected in order to dislodge any foreign body.
… And don’t forget the kidneys!
Here again, the development of the complication in the kidney is diffuse: it occurs without the diabetic patient being aware of it. If the detection occurs too late, there is a risk of reaching the ultimate stage, that is to say the obligation to artificially replace the failing renal function. It’s dialysis with 10,000 new cases per year in France.
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