For sufferers of both diabetes and indigestion (dyspepsia), the causes can be varied and are usually related to an existing condition of the digestive tract such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcers, cancer, or an abnormality of the pancreas or bile ducts. Dyspepsia occurs as several symptoms such as a feeling of fullness while eating, uncomfortable fullness after a meal, and burning or pain after a meal. When an underlying cause cannot be found, the indigestion is known as functional dyspepsia and is thought to originate where the stomach meets the small intestine. Abnormal motility, the contraction of the stomach’s muscles as it receives food, is also a potential cause of indigestion.

Diabetes and Indigestion: Motility of the Stomach

For long-term patients of diabetes, those suffering from the disease for more than five years, the chance that they will experience decreased motility of the stomach increases. When …

For individuals suffering from diabetes, skin complications are extremely common. Diabetic dermopathy is the most common of the diabetes skin complication with nearly 30% of all patients suffering from it. Diabetic dermopathy occurs mostly on the shins, though it is possible to have it all over the body, and is characterized by brown or reddish, rounds spots, and scaly patches on the skin. Associated with retinopathy (retinal damage), diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), and nephropathy (kidney damage), the actual cause of dermopathy is unknown though it is more prevalent among long-term sufferers (10-20 years) of diabetes. It is also thought be related to injury or trauma in the areas that it appears. Patients with dermopathy have also been shown to have higher levels of glycosylated haemoglobin, a form of haemoglobin that is formed in the presence of plasma glucose. Because of this relationship, glycosylated haemoglobin is used to measure long-term blood …

A disease of the autoimmune and endocrine systems, diabetes affects every part of your body and your life. Preventing diabetes complications is important in the management of the disease and your quality of life. Individuals who have had diabetes for several years are at higher risk for developing complications of the eyes, kidneys, nervous and circulatory systems which in turn effect specific body parts and functions. Prevention thus must be integrative as the development of a single complication can be indicative of the presence of another or lead to further complications.

Preventing Diabetes Complications: Know Your Risk & Find Balance

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends focusing on food, physical activity, and medicine to create balance. It is important to regularly test your blood sugar at home in order to understand and tweak your regime, as well as work closely with your primary physician and specialists. Studies …

Calluses can occur anywhere on the body where there is friction and/or pressure. When associated with a diabetic, calluses can be the first sign of ulcer formation. While they can also show up on the hands, most diabetics will experience calluses on their feet. Usually caused by uneven application of weight on the foot, calluses can also occur due to poor-fitting shoes or not using socks. For this reason calluses usually develop on the soles of the feet on the heel or ball. Amongst diabetics, those with neuropathy are the most at risk.

When Diabetic Calluses Become Something Else

While calluses themselves are harmless and can be treated daily at home, a callus that is left untreated due to diabetic neuropathy can lead to a foot ulcer. Calluses create pressure on the foot and can cause the skin under the surface to break down. The callus may then …

For the diabetic, eye damage becomes a significant risk if blood glucose is not kept at healthy levels. While there are several conditions and complications related to the eyes and diabetes, actual eye damage may go unnoticed until it is severe. There are several indicators that blood glucose is negatively affecting your vision. It is important to be aware of these and know their symptoms as well as have regular visits with your doctor to test your glycosylated haemoglobin. An early indicator that blood sugar has been out of control is blurriness. Caused by extended periods of high glucose, excess water swells the lens of the eye, taking nearly six weeks before the swelling will go down after glucose levels are normalized. When blood sugar has gone unchecked for several years, the capillaries of the eye will weaken leading to leakage of blood and fluid into the eye and the …

Overstretched or fatigued muscles, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle usually cause diabetic back pain, although there are others factors specific to diabetic patients. In a study done by Sarah Krein, PhD, RN, 60% of patients (1,000 diabetic subjects) suffered from chronic pain mostly in their back, hip, and knee. Most patients said that the pain was interfering with their daily lives and treatment of diabetes, including regular exercise and eating properly, and 78% of subjects reported taking some form of painkiller. The trend among subjects was that overweight young women using insulin reported the highest incidence of chronic pain. Extending beyond the physical, there was an increased incidence of depression amongst the subjects as well with nearly half showing symptoms compared to 20% in a pain-free group. Social isolation is a common side effect of this form of depression as well.

Focal Neuropathy and Diabetic Back Pain

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There is an assortment of products manufactured specifically for diabetic dry skin. Because dry skin in diabetics is related to several internal factor as well as external ones, treatment and prevention must be two-fold, from the inside out. First it is important to know the main causes of dry skin amongst diabetics. Directly related to high glucose levels, dry skin is common in people who are newly diagnosed or are not managing their blood sugar well. High blood glucose can cause the kidneys to flush excess glucose from the body in urine, thereby depriving the entire system of moisture or by constricting blood vessels, effecting circulation to the skin and increasing risk of neuropathy. Both scenarios prevent the body from replenishing moisture on the skin in the form of sweat.

Diabetic Dry Skin Care

According to the British Journal of Dermatology, the essential fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid …

Diabetes is the number one cause of adult blindness in the United States. Diabetic eye complications can vary from temporary spots to permanent damage and vision loss. As with all diabetic complications, the eyes are directly affected by blood glucose levels. Diabetics should have regular dilated eye exams and be aware of the early indicators of damage. Extended periods of unchecked glucose levels can lead to blurry vision, a result of swelling of the lens. This problem can easily be corrected by maintaining blood sugar within a healthy range however, it make take several months before vision returns to normal. Blurriness may also be a symptom of a more severe complication such as glaucoma, cataracts, or retinopathy, which need to be addressed by a doctor.

Diabetic Eye Complications: Floaters

Eye floaters are specks or “spider webs” that drift or float in your vision when you move your eyes …

A major health concern, hearing loss affects nearly 34.5 million Americans. Diabetic hearing loss is believed to be caused by high blood glucose levels, which damage the blood vessels and nerves in the inner ear. The National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) found that hearing loss is two times as common in people with diabetes and in a study done by Dutch researches in two health clinics, 19.7% of diabetes patients used hearing aids compared with 2.3% of those without diabetes. In people with pre-diabetes the instance of hearing loss is 30% higher than among people with normal blood glucose levels. A gradual process, hearing loss can often go unnoticed by those who have it.

Sensorineural Diabetic Hearing Loss

The most common form of hearing loss and that found …

Can diabetes cause back pain? Diabetes and back pain have been associated but it is not usually the cause. In most cases, things that cause diabetes also cause back pain, such as being overweight, not exercising enough, and age related problems. Upper back pain diabetes symptoms are usually attributed to muscle strain, poor posture, pressure on spinal nerves, or osteoarthritis. In rare cases diabetes back pain can also be attributed to gallbladder disease or an infection (DiabeticConnect.com, 2011).

Diabetes and Lower Back Pain

Back pain in diabetes which occurs in the lower back and feet has been attributed to nerve damage. This is known as diabetic neuropathy, and it is very common. One clear indicator of this is a numbness that occurs in your lower legs or feet. According to the National Diabetes Information Clearing house (NDIC), 60-70% of diabetics have some form of neuropathy.

Sometimes back pain and …

Diabetic wound healing is very important in treating the disease. If you are diabetic and you find a wound, you should not ignore it, no matter how insignificant they seem. This is because the in diabetes there is a number of complications which slows the healing process. This not leaves the wound open longer and more likely to get infected, but the body also then has trouble fighting off the infection. Treating wounds affectively will help you avoid infection and speed up the healing process.

The following are steps that you should take in order to avoid infections and promote diabetic wound healing:

1. Immediately take care of all wounds, no matter how small. Even a minor wound can start a severe infection if bacteria are allowed to build up in your system. So, whether it is a blister or a paper cut treat the wound in a proper manner.
2. Clean

Diabetes and eye problems often run hand in hand. This is because high blood pressure will damage the small blood vessels of the eye, which in turn alters its structure and function. There are actually several eye problems associated with diabetes, while other eye problems are due to diabetes. Some diabetes eye problems occur when blood vessels thicken, leak, develop clots, and close off. Sometimes the vessels will even grow balloon-like defects called micro-aneurysms.

There are many other causes leading to eye problems and diabetes vision loss. There have been cases where if the retina is denied its blood supply, new vessels will develop, but they are fragile. If blood vessels in the eye bleed, sometimes it can cause hemorrhages, scar tissue or separation of the retina from the back of the eye. The new vessels may also block fluid flow from the eye, causing glaucoma (WebMd.com, 2011).

Eye Problems

Many people don’t know that diabetic foot ulcers are the top injury leading to extremity amputation. Because of this, it is important for diabetics to understand how to care for their feet and take on meticulous preventative measure in their daily routine. Diabetic foot care also requires thorough knowledge of what risk factors lead to amputation.

According to Footulcer.info.com, some of the warning signs that foot ulcers could occur are:

• Having diabetes or being overweight
• Redness or “hot spots” on the bottom of feet
• Calluses or corns
• Lack of feeling or sense of touch on the foot’s bottom

Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by high forefoot pressure on from tight calf muscles and lack of feeling in the foot. Nerve damage, which is usually caused by diabetes, in turn causes the tendons to tighten and reduces the sense of touch causing diabetic ulcers foot damage. If these diabetic ulcers …

Diabetes ulcers are one of the main conditions which lead to lower extremity amputations. Most of the time these diabetes ulcers form on feet or toes, however, they can occur elsewhere. One of the major problems with diabetes and ulcers is that ulcers provide an opening for an infection that not only can affect your tissues but the bone as well.

Diabetes Foot Ulcers

The most common occurrence concerning ulcers and diabetes, are ulcer which form on the feet. Diabetics should inspect their feet daily or have someone else do it for them. They should also take every opportunity to learn about diabetic foot care. Keeping feet washed and dry, wearing properly fitting shoes, wearing seamless sock, not walking around barefoot, and visiting a podiatrist regularly are all things that will help keep you from getting diabetes ulcers.

Foot ulcers diabetes medical treatment includes addressing three basic issues:…

By far, there is more than one complication of diabetes mellitus. It also takes a lot for a person with diabetes to avoid these complications. Diet and exercise are probably the most crucial elements in trying to avoid a complication of diabetes. Care of one’s feet is also a trivial aspect of avoiding a diabetes complication from occurring. Some major complications which can occur are:

Eye complications – This is a major complication in diabetes. People with diabetes have a higher risk of blindness than other people, although most diabetics only have minor eye disorders. Some major conditions that can develop are glaucoma, cataracts, and retinopathy. Regular checkups and eye exams are important in this complication of diabetes.

Foot complications – This is another major complication of diabetes mellitus. Most of the time foot problems in diabetes are caused by nerve damage (neuropathy) which causes numbness in the diabetic’s feet. …

Diabetes skin sores are the most common kind of diabetes sores. Learning how to prevent and care for these diabetes sores is crucial to avoiding complications such as amputation. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) recommends the following techniques for taking care of your skin:

After washing with mild soap, rinse and dry off well. Check places where water can hide, such as under your arms and between your toes.

• Keep your skin moist by using lotions or creams after you bathe.
• Drink lots of fluids, especially water, to keep your skin healthy.
• Wear cotton clothes because they allow air to move around your body.
• Check your skin after washing up for any dry, red, or sore spots which could lead to infection.
• Talk to your doctor about any skin problems.

Diabetes Foot Sores

Foot sores from diabetes are the most likely skin sores to manifest. This happens …