Foot Complications of Diabetes and Kidney Disease
Posted by: Lindelwa Maseko in Health, tags: HealthWhenever we think about people with diabetes, we often think of them as having problems with their feet. This is one of the most common complications of diabetes and diabetes, more than anyone, need to make certain that they address any problems with their feet early on as such problems can result in a life threatening condition.
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.
Kidney disease and diabetes
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.
Kidney disease is acquired in many ways. In diabetics, it is acquired because the kidneys worked too hard to filter out the sugars and starches and were unable to remove waste products from the blood. Eventually, like any organ that is overworked, they shut down. When the kidneys shut down, a person is often put on dialysis, in which a machine functions as the kidneys. In some cases, a person with kidney disease can opt for a transplant, however this is not often available to persons with diabetes.
Diabetes is not necessarily a precursor to kidney disease. Kidney disease and diabetes are two different diseases. One does not always lead to the other.
Entries (RSS)