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Advice for people with diabetes and their families


Complications of diabetes

High blood sugar levels can seriously damage parts of your body, including your feet and your eyes. These are called the complications of diabetes. But you can take action to prevent or delay many of these problems.

What are the complications of diabetes?

You might hear your healthcare team talk about two types of diabetes complications: serious ones that build up over time called chronic complications and ones that can happen at any time called acute complications.  

Chronic complications

These are long-term problems that can develop gradually, and can lead to serious damage if they go unchecked and untreated.

  • Eye problems (retinopathy)
    Some people with diabetes develop an eye disease called diabetic retinopathy which can affect their eyesight. If retinopathy is picked up – usually from an eye screening test - it can be treated and sight loss prevented.

  • Foot problems
    Having diabetes means that you’re more at risk of serious foot problems and which can lead to amputation if untreated. Nerve damage can affect the feeling in your feet and raised blood sugar can damage the circulation, making it slower for sores and cuts to heal. That’s why it’s important to tell your GP if you notice any change in how your feet look or feel.  

  • Heart attack and stroke
    When you have diabetes, high blood sugar for a period of time can damage your blood vessels. This can sometimes lead to heart attacks and strokes. 

  • Kidney problems (nephropathy)
    Diabetes can cause damage to your kidneys over a long period of time making it harder to clear extra fluid and waste from your body. This is caused by high blood sugar levels and high blood pressure. It is known as diabetic nephropathy or kidney disease.

  • Nerve damage (neuropathy)
    Some people with diabetes may develop nerve damage caused over time by high blood sugar levels. This can make it harder for the nerves to carry messages between the brain and every part of our body so it can affect how we see, hear, feel and move. 

  • Gum disease and other mouth problems
    Too much sugar in your blood can lead to more sugar in your saliva. This brings bacteria which produces acid which attacks your tooth enamel and damages your gums. The blood vessels in your gums can also become damaged, making gums more likely to get infected.

  • Related conditions, like cancer 
    If you have diabetes, you’re more at risk of developing certain cancers. And some cancer treatments can affect your diabetes and make it harder to control your blood sugar. 

  • Sexual problems in women
    Damage to blood vessels and nerves can restrict the amount of blood flowing to your sexual organs so you can lose some sensation. If you have high blood sugar, you are also more likely to get thrush or a urinary tract infection. 

  • Sexual problems in men
    The amount of blood flowing to your sexual organs can be restricted which may cause you to have difficulty getting aroused. It may lead to erectile dysfunction, sometimes called impotence. 

Acute complications 

These can happen at any time and may lead to chronic complications.

  • Hypos – when your blood sugars are too low
  • Hypers– when your blood sugars are too high

Explore the graphic to find out more.

What causes diabetes complications?




How do I prevent or delay complications?

They’re not inevitable. Keeping blood sugarblood pressure and blood fats under control will hugely help to reduce your risk of developing complications. This means going to your diabetes health checks and finding out from your diabetes healthcare team how to look after yourself between appointments.You can prevent or delay the complications of diabetes. But you need to take action and it’s all about managing your diabetes well.



If you have chronic complications 



How we can help

If you would like to talk through your worries and concerns, please do call our helpline for specialist information and advice. You will be given as much time as you need and although the service is confidential, you can choose to remain anonymous if you prefer. Our online forum is also a place you can talk about and share your concerns with others who have had similar experiences.

We're also investing in research to help us identify and protect against complications. We're determined to bring about improvements to treatments and care in people with diabetes, having already set up the first diabetes foot clinic in the UK, helping to reduce amputations.

Find out more about our life-changing research 
