People with diabetes have to deal with both short- and long-term health complications that affect different parts of the body. Read to find out how diabetes is linked to these six health conditions and learn to recognise their symptoms to reduce the risks of getting them.<\/p>\n
Diabetes increases the \u2018stickiness\u2019 of the inner lining of the blood vessels and enhances cholesterol deposition. For the heart, additional glucose can increase the thickness of the heart muscles, thereby affecting its normal function. This increase is caused by poor circulation at the minute level that results in making more small blood vessels to grow and thickening the blood vessels. Both of these effects are detrimental to the heart\u2019s function.<\/p>\n
Having excess sugar in the blood can injure the walls of tiny blood vessels that nourish the nerves, especially in the legs. This prevents essential nutrients to reach the nerves, and nerve fibres can be damaged in the process. As such this causes tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually starts at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upwards. If left untreated, one could lose the ability to sense and feel in the affected limbs.<\/p>\n
Dr N V Ramani, Specialist in Neurology & Consultant, Raffles Neuroscience Centre<\/em><\/p>\n With nerve damage and poor blood circulation to the feet, diabetics can develop cuts and blisters that go unnoticed because of reduced sensation. If left untreated, these small open wounds can lead to serious infection that often heal poorly. In the worst case scenario, it can lead to foot or leg amputation. Therefore, it is advisable for diabetics to wear wellpadded covered shoes.<\/p>\n Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes and occurs when high glucose levels in diabetes causes weakening of the retinal blood vessels. The walls of weakened vessels may start to bleed microscopically or become leaky; causing fluid to seep into the retina and interfering with its function. In later stages of diabetic retinopathy, growth of new retinal blood vessels begins to take place to bypass the damaged vessels. This may sound like a good idea, but the new vessels are leaky, fragile, and often misdirected, growing off the retina and into the vitreous (the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina). As the vitreous shrinks with age, it pulls on these fragile vessels and can cause them to tear, resulting in a vitreous haemorrhage and sudden vision loss.<\/p>\n Dr Michael Wong, Family Physician & Consultant, Raffles Medical<\/em><\/p>\n Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease as it affects the blood vessels. The kidneys contain millions of tiny blood vessel clusters that help to filter waste from the blood. Nephropathy is a general term that refers to the deterioration of proper function in the kidneys. Therefore, diabetic nephropathy can lead to end-stage renal disease in some cases, and the increase in chronic kidney disease is also partly due to the rise in diabetes.<\/p>\n Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease as it affects the blood vessels. The kidneys contain millions of tiny blood vessel clusters that help to filter waste from the blood. Nephropathy is a general term that refers to the deterioration of proper function in the kidneys. Therefore, diabetic nephropathy can lead to end-stage renal disease in some cases, and the increase in chronic kidney disease is also partly due to the rise in diabetes.<\/p>\n Dr Chris Foo, Specialist in Dermatology & Consultant, Raffles Skin & Aesthetics<\/em><\/p>\n While people with diabetes are at risk of complications, there are steps you can take to manage your condition and avoid complications from arising:<\/p>\n Below is a list of activities, and the approximate number of calories burned by performing these activities for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n People with diabetes have to deal with both short- and long-term health complications that affect different parts of the body. Read to find out how diabetes is linked to these six health conditions and learn to recognise their symptoms to reduce the risks of getting them. Heart Disease Diabetes increases the \u2018stickiness\u2019 of the inner […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internal-medicine","category-highlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions\/1788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.rafflesmedical.vn\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Foot Damage<\/h3>\n
Symptoms<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
Eye<\/h3>\n
Symptoms<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
Kidney Disease (Nephropathy)<\/h3>\n
Symptoms<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
Skin Problems<\/h4>\n
Skin care tips<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
How to Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes Complications<\/h4>\n
\n
\n\n
\n (Spread throughout the week)<\/strong><\/td>\n Strength Activities
\n(>2 days\/week)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n Mixed Martial Arts336 kcal<\/strong>Running238 kcal<\/strong>Swimming137 kcal<\/strong>Football238 kcal<\/strong><\/td>\n Stair Climbing150 kcal<\/strong>Cycling232 kcal<\/strong>Pole Dancing220 kcal<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n Isometric Activities<\/strong><\/td>\n Recreational Activities<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Pilates102 kcal<\/strong>Hatha Yoga85 kcal<\/strong>Tai Chi137 kcal<\/strong><\/td>\n Trampoline Jumping119 kcal<\/strong>Tennis (Singles)273 kcal<\/strong>Rock climbing269 kcal<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n Lifestyle Activities<\/strong><\/td>\n Car washing146 kcal<\/strong>Multiple household chores147 kcal<\/strong>Kitchen activities
\n(Cooking, dish washing)113 kcal<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nAll activities recommended 150 minutes\/ week<\/h4>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"