JAKARTA – The most recognizable symptom of diabetes is high blood sugar levels. There are various factors that cause diabetes, including an unhealthy lifestyle, eating too many carbohydrates and artificial sweeteners, and the functioning of the pancreas that is not optimal.

As a reference to distinguish type 1 and type 2 diabetes is the function of the pancreas in producing and managing insulin. Although diabetes is not a disease, it is referred to as a metabolic disorder, meaning you need to anticipate it before experiencing it.

But if you have metabolic disorders, especially diabetes, then change your lifestyle and eat healthy and consult with experts what treatment is right to restore the metabolic rate in the body.

Diabetes is referred to as a metabolic disorder, because the body cannot process sugar intake in the body. So that blood sugar levels increase and interfere with the performance of other organs in the body. The effects of diabetes include the following:

Disrupts the cardiovascular system

High blood sugar can reduce the capacity of blood vessels. What was initially elastic becomes narrower and has the effect of blocking blood flow. Reported by Medical News Today, Friday, June 18, because blood flow is blocked, oxygen and blood supply are reduced.

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, there are 74 percent of adult cases of diabetes followed by hypertension. And damage to blood vessels can trigger microvascular diseases including heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral artery disease.

Experiencing wounds and infections

Wounds and infections are caused by insufficient blood flow and the need to fight off infectants and heal wounds is inhibited. Retinopathy or sores that do not heal in diabetics are permanent, such as the eyes, kidneys, and most commonly the feet.

Neuropathy or nerve damage

Nerve damage is a common complication experienced by people with diabetes. Neuropathy can affect any part of the body including those controlled by autonomic nerves such as digestion.

Another symptom experienced is numbness, especially in the thighs, calves, soles of the feet, toes, arms, hands and fingers.

Damage blood vessels in the kidneys and urinary system sistem

Still related to blood vessels, the effects of diabetes are very fatal if not treated immediately. Including the effect on kidney damage that is unable to filter waste from the blood, eventually experiencing kidney failure.

Decreased sense of sight

In the short term, diabetes has the effect of reducing the sense of vision or blurred vision. In the long term, it can lead to glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and cataracts.

Interfere with digestion

Indigestion caused by diabetes is called gastroparesis, which is the digestive system is not able to optimally move food from the stomach to the small intestine. Symptoms include feeling nauseous, vomiting, experiencing acid reflux, bloating, stomach pain, and drastic weight loss.

efek diabetes pada tubuh
Illustration of indigestion (Pexels/Kindel Media)
Problem skin conditions

Diabetes can indeed have an overall effect, including the skin. If you have diabetes, a person will have dry skin, skin tags, bacterial infections, fungal infections, itching, diabetic dermopathy, and retinopathy.

Decreased fertility

Sexual fertility or fertility can decrease due to diabetes, this is due to damage to the autonomic nervous system that affects sexual function. This influence can be experienced by both men and women. In women, irregular periods are also common due to high blood sugar levels.

Effect on mental health

It is not only the physical body whose function has decreased to the point of being disturbed. Mental conditions are also potentially affected by sugar in the blood. Diabetes can affect mental health including worry, anxiety, stress, and depression.

Given the effects of diabetes on the body is not as simple as imagined, it means that it must be anticipated.


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