How do health problems from diabetes begin ?

If your diabetes is not well controlled, the sugar level in your blood goes up. This is called "hyperglycemia" (high blood sugar). High blood sugar can cause damage to very small blood vessels in your body. Imagine what happens to sugar when it is left unwrapped overnight. It gets sticky. Now imagine how sugar "sticks" to your small blood vessels and makes it hard for blood to get to your organs. Damage to blood vessels occurs most often in the eyes, heart, nerves, feet, and kidneys. Let's look at how this damage happens.

1 Eyes - Having high levels of sugar in your blood for a long time can harm the tiny blood vessels in your eyes. This can result in vision problems or blindness.

2 Heart - High blood sugar may also harm larger blood vessels in your body that supply oxygen to your heart and brain. Fat can build up in the blood vessels as well. This can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

3 Nerves - Nerves carry important messages between your brain and other parts of your body. Having high levels of sugar in your blood for many years can damage the blood vessels that bring oxygen to some nerves. Damaged nerves may stop sending pain signals.

4 Feet - Diabetes can harm your feet in two ways. First, it can damage your body's nerves. Nerve damage stops you from feeling pain or other problems in your feet. Another way that diabetes can cause damage to your feet is from poor blood circulation. Poor blood flow makes it hard for a sore or infection to heal. If sores don't heal and get infected, it can lead to amputation.

5 Kidneys - Think of your kidneys like a coffee filter. They keep the things you need inside your body, but filter out wastes and extra fluid. Your kidneys are filled with tiny blood vessels.

Read more - https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/diabetes-and-your-eyes-heart-nerves-feet-and-kidneys#