There can be short and long-term effects of Diabetes; the sooner you get diagnosed, the more you will reduce your risk of serious side-effects.

Short term effects including hypoglycaemia, DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) and HHS (Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state) are well known; talk to your healthcare advisor about these who will be able to brief you on what they mean.

Long term effects may be on your eyes, heart, kidneys, nerves and feet.

Diabetic Retinopathy will reduce your eye-sight but can be effectively rectified by use of laser in 80% of cases.

Your may develop heart or kidney disease and again these are detectable and largely manageable.

Neuropathy which affects your nerves may result in a reduced sensitivity to heat or cold for example. The loss of sensation may cause you to fail to recognise when you hurt yourself (bang a foot for example).

The message is very simple - prevention is better than cure; control your diet and avoid smoking - it's easier than having the side effects later in life!

diabetes and visual impairment

One of the side effects of diabetes can be visual impairment and possible blindness. The principal eye complications are glaucoma, cataracts and retinopathy. People with diabetes are 40% more likely to suffer from glaucoma than people without diabetes. (diabetes.org)

Incidence rates again vary worldwide but estimates of visual impairment vary from 2-10% depending on age and duration of diabetes. There is substantial diversity in the estimates of visual impairment. However if we assume even 2% of 285 million, we already reach at least 5 million. It is estimated that approximately 5-10% of blind people have lost their sight because of diabetic retinopathy. It is the leading cause of new blindness in working age people in the USA.