Eye Complications

Diabetic retinopathy-Retina is the layer at the back of the eye. When blood vessels in the retina are damaged, they can leak fluid or bleed. This causes the retina to swell and form deposits called exudates. This is an early form of diabetic retinopathy and may not lead to any decrease in vision, but at this stage diabetic retinopathy can be treated. If the care is not taken, then eventually the blood vessels close off, stop blood flow to the retina. As the disease progresses, new blood vessels form. These vessels are quite fragile and bleed into the eyes causing severe vision problems and blindness. 
Treatment- In early stages, diabetic retinopathy is easily treatable.  It can be treated by using laser therapy and surgery to seal off leaking vessels and remove the blood blocking the retina. Early treatment can prevent or delay vision loss.

Cataracts and glaucoma are also common in people with diabetes. People without diabetes can get these eye problems, too. But people with diabetes get these problems more often and at a younger age.

• A cataract is a cloud over the lens or opacity of the lens of the eye, which is usually clear. 
• Glaucoma starts from pressure building up in the eye. Over time, this pressure damages eye’s main nerve—the optic nerve. The damage first causes one to lose sight from the sides of your eyes. Treating glaucoma is usually simple. Your eye care professional will give you special drops to use every day to lower the pressure in your eyes. Or your eye care professional may want you to have laser surgery.
• Visit your eye care professional if:

1. your vision becomes blurry 
2. you see double
3. one or both of your eyes hurt
4. your eyes get red and stay that way
5. you feel pressure in your eye 
6. you see spots or floaters 
7. you can't see things at the side as you used to.

Kidney Complications

There are no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic kidney disease. It takes many years to develop. Usually the first sign that the kidneys’ filtration system is damaged is an excess amount of protein in the urine, known as microalbuminuria. The kidney’s filtration function usually remains normal during this period. If a person with diabetes does not take precautionary measures, more protein/albumin leaks into the urine. This stage may be called macroalbuminuria or proteinuria. 
In the later stages, as the kidneys fail, the  blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels and creatinine in your blood increase. In some cases patients may experience nausea, weakness, itching, muscle cramps (especially in your legs) poor appetite and anemia (low blood count). 

Treatment:
With aggressive treatment and yearly testing, one can greatly slow the decline in kidney function and reduce the number of people developing kidney failure. Regular urinalysis and measurement of protein (microalbuminuria) in urine (at least once a year) is must for all people with diabetes. If the kidneys fail, survival depends on either dialysis (a machine to do the kidneys’ blood-filtering) or a kidney transplant. 

Nerve Complications

Over time it can progress to develop nerve damage throughout the body. Some people with nerve damage have no symptoms. Others may have symptoms such as pain, tingling, or numbness—loss of feeling—in the hands, arms, feet, and legs. Nerve damage can occur in any/every organ system, including the digestive tract, heart, and sex organs.

Stroke

Most strokes happen because a blood clots blocking a blood vessel in the brain or neck. A stroke can cause various problems in movements, pain, numbness, and problems with thinking, remembering or speaking. Some people also have emotional problems, such as depression, after a stroke. 

Heart

Too much sugar in the blood can cause damage to many parts of the body, including blood vessels resulting in coronary artery disease. This damage makes it easier for fatty deposits to form in arteries and cause narrowing or blockages that can lead to heart attacks or strokes. People with diabetes are also at risk for heart failure. Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump blood properly. Unfortunately, many of the cardiovascular problems start early in life in people with diabetes and can go undetected. Those with diabetes sometimes suffer what is called "silent ischemia" or silent heart attack, which account for 25-30 percent of heart attacks. Silent, in this case, means the patient gets a heart attack without experiencing chest pain. People with diabetes usually don’t feel chest pain because of nerve damage caused by poorly controlled diabetes. The symptoms that are felt may be ignored, or passed off as indigestion or stomach upset, vague dizziness or weakness.

Feet

A person with diabetes needs to treat his/her feet with care. While anyone can get foot problems, for people with diabetes these common foot problems can possibly lead to infection and serious complications. A person with diabetes may lose sensation in feet to feel pain, heat, and cold. This means that a person with diabetes can have a cut, blister or other minor foot injuries and not know about it. Nerve affections may affect muscle function because the nerves that make the muscles work are damaged. This can cause improper pressure in certain areas of foot and thus leading to ulcer and deformities in shape of foot such as Bunions (bunion is a deformity of the bones and the joint between the foot and big toe), Hammer Toes (toe deformity) and Charcot Feet (slackness of the ligaments, joints being dislocated, bone and cartilage being damaged).
Poor blood circulation in feet can hinder body's ability to heal foot sores or other injuries. Smoking can make it worse.
High blood glucose levels interfere with body’s natural defence systems, so infections are harder to heal and people with uncontrolled diabetes are prone to fungal and bacterial infections of foot and skin.

Taking care of feet:

• Look at and touch your feet every day: tops, bottoms, backs, sides and between the toes daily. Get prompt medical attention for any problems like a cut, sore, blister, or bruise
• Keep your feet clean and dry especially between your toes. Wash your feet in warm, not hot, water
• Cut or file toe nails with the shape of the toe, smoothing all sharp edges.
• Moisturize dry skin with a good lotion. Do not put lotion between your toes, because this might cause infection.
• Never go barefoot. Wear house shoes at home.
• Avoid injury to your feet. Have corns, calluses or ingrown toe nail treated by a professional. Never perform bathroom surgery on corns or calluses.
• Don't use antiseptic solutions, drugstore medications, heating pads or sharp instruments on your feet
• Check your shoes twice a day and shake them out to make sure that there are no small objects in them that cause injury.
• Buy new shoes late in the day when your feet are larger. Check how your shoe fits in width, length, back, bottom of heel and sole. Avoid pointed-toe styles and high heels.
• Wear shoes and socks that fit well. Socks made with natural fibres like cotton and wool are good as they absorb moisture away from skin.
• Be careful to avoid burns from hot water, pavement, sand, hot water bottles and heating pads. Remember that you may not feel the burn.
• Swimming and bicycling are good forms of exercise that are easy on the feet.
• If you smoke any form of tobacco, quitting can be one of the best things you can do to prevent problems with your feet
• Have your feet checked at least once a year for blood circulation and sensory loss Have surgery to fix deformities such as bunions and hammertoes.

Visit your doctor or podiatrist immediately if you discover-

• An ulcer or open sore, no matter how small it is.
• An infection in a cut or blister.
• Redness, swelling or increased warmth.
• Very cold areas or very warm areas in your feet.
• Ingrown toenails.
• Corns or calluses with skin discolorations.
• Pain in the legs at rest or while walking.
• A change in the size or shape of the foot or ankles.
• Unexplained high blood sugar levels.
• Although treatment for diabetic foot problems has improved, prevention - including good control of blood sugar level - remains the best way to prevent diabetic complications and manage them in case if they occurs.