6 Body Parts Affected in Diabetes Mellitus


Based on the statistics provided by the International Diabetes Federation or IDF, Singapore contributed 541,000 cases of diabetes mellitus to the worldwide count of 415 million in the year 2015. As there is no known cure to DM, lifestyle and blood sugar management is of utmost consideration. Medications and lifestyle modifications do not assure the patient a reversion of his or her blood sugar to normal levels. It would take a lot of commitment to comply and another to keep complying. In other words, diabetes mellitus requires a lifetime management.


It is very important to comply with the management provided by your physician as this general condition could affect any organ in your body when blood sugar levels are uncontrolled. So to inform you more about this disease, here are 6 body parts which could be affected by unmanaged diabetes mellitus:

  • Your heart and blood vessels: Increased levels of blood sugar most likely increase cholesterol levels as well. This could contribute to the formation of plaques which can cause a blockage to any artery in the heart. Also, sugar increases the viscosity of the blood. Clumping may occur which could also occlude small arteries or veins.


  • Your kidneys: The filtering capacity of the kidneys could be affected by too much workload brought about by large molecules of sugar or glucose. This could injure the kidney and cause renal failure in the long run.


  • Your eyes: Since your eyes have minute blood vessels, they can easily be affected by the viscosity and increase in pressure caused by the persistent rise in blood sugar. Glaucoma or even blindness could result when left unmanaged.


  • Your feet: One of the most commonly affected organs in the diabetic body is the foot, the toes to be specific. Due to their placement in the human body, pressure that brings blood to them from the heart is lesser. Therefore, when blood pumped is viscous because of sugar, chances are the feet become undersupplied. You may feel numbness or pain. Check any wounds which took so much time healing and try to touch your feet if they are unusually cold. If you have suspicions, tell your doctor about it.


  • Your pancreas: The pancreas could be the reason why you have increased blood sugar levels. It might not be producing the right amount of insulin or it might be that there’s nothing at all! Injuries to the pancreas, left unmanaged, could lead to insulin level fluctuations.


  • Your liver: Glycogen, the storage form of glucose or sugar, is in the liver. But without insulin or with resistance to insulin, glucose is not absorbed to be used by the cells or to be stored. More glycogen would mean more energy stores – another reason why diabetics fatigue easily.

Awareness of any condition can influence the compliance of a person. Be well informed and be free from the complications of diabetes mellitus!


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