Diabetes Complications & Related Concerns

If you don't take good care of diabetes, over time, it can cause some problems. How you and your child take care of diabetes now affects what happens later on. You may not think it's that big a deal if your child's blood glucose is a little high. Your child may feel just fine, but hyperglycemia is a strain on the body and it can cause problems later on. These problems are called complications. Some diabetes complications include:

• Neuropathy is nerve damage. It can cause problems in legs as well as other systems in the body.
• Retinopathy is damage to the eyes.
• Nephropathy is kidney disease. The kidneys filter waste out of the blood when they don't work well, poisons can build up.
• Heart disease is more common in people with diabetes.

There are treatments to help people with these problems. For example, eye surgery can often keep retinopathy from turning into blindness. But the best treatment is to take care of diabetes now and as your child gets older. Good diabetes care now can delay or prevent complications later.

Learn more about diabetes complications.

It can be difficult for children to understand why diabetes care is so important. Often children and teens have trouble understanding how what they do can effect the future. Children and especially teens may sometimes want to slack off on diabetes care and say that complications will "never happen to me."  Or, they may be the opposite and feel like they will have problems no matter what, so why bother?

If this happens, it is important to try to understand where your child is coming from. It may help to talk a little bit about how frustrating diabetes care can be. Let your child vent. Then steer your talk back to how good diabetes care today can help prevent problems in the future.

Some specific complications to watch for

People with diabetes are more likely to have some kinds of problems, like dry skin or gum disease. It's important for your child to learn to take care of herself to prevent or reduce these problems as much as possible. Some of these areas include:

Skin Complications
At some point in thier lives, as many as one-third of people with diabetes will have a skin problem caused or affected by diabetes. Luckily, most skin conditions can be prevented or easily treated if caught early. To prevent problems, try to keep blood glucose levels in the target range, keep hands clean and dry, treat cuts right away, and include a dermatologist in your child's diabetes care team. Learn more about good skin care.

Foot Complications
People with diabetes can develop many different foot problems. Foot problems most often happen when there is nerve damage in the feet or when blood flow is poor. Learn how to protect your feet by following some basic guidelines. Learn more about good foot care.

Oral Health
People with diabetes are at a higher risk for gum disease and other mouth-related problems.