Foot Complications Of Diabetes And Kidney Disease
Foot complications of diabetes are caused by neuropathy. Because the high glucose levels in the blood of a diabetic person affects the central nervous system after a period of time, it also affects nerves in various parts of your body. Most often effected are the nerves in the feet and the furthest from the brain, it is here where people with diabetes who have nerve damage, often do not feel cold or pain or even heat. People with diabetes that is uncontrolled often can injure their feet without feeling it. The injury may result in a blister or wound that will be slow to heal. The blister or wound becomes infected and the foot complications of diabetes begin.
Because high blood glucose levels make it difficult to stave off infection, a diabetic with a sore on their foot must be treated differently than a person without diabetes. The sore may be very slow to heal, if it heals at all. Infection often sets in. This can lead to gangrene and, in some cases, amputation.
Gangrene can lead to foot amputation and in some cases, however, the gangrene has already spread to the foot making the amputation risks more infection. Now not only does the person lose their toe, but their entire foot. And this can continue until they lose their leg.
On kidney disease
Not everyone who has diabetes gets kidney disease. This is yet another popular misconception about the illness. While uncontrolled glycemia can cause kidney disease, diabetics who maintain their proper blood glucose levels can avoid kidney disease.
Many diabetics are non compliant patients. Non complaint patients are those who do not do what the doctor instructs them to do. They do not follow the diet as recommended in the Glycemic Index. This chart was developed to inform people with diabetes of which foods to avoid. Those foods that are high in the glycemic index take the longest to break down and do the most damage to the kidneys, who try their best to eliminate the waste. The Glycemic Index was developed in 1981 and is a potential lifesaver for anyone with this disease as it clearly states which foods to avoid.
Exercise and weight control are crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle not only for diabetics, but for the general population. Yet many people simply refuse to follow these essential guidelines.