Diabetics Are Prone to Serious Infections

Serious infections are more common in diabetics. The reason for this is because when you have diabetes, your body’s immune system is compromised, so it doesn’t fight back as effectively.

Not only can it not fight back as well, but the warning signs that you have an infection can be masked when you have diabetes. So, you can have an infection start and you may not recognize it until you’ve already had it for a while.

Common Infections for Diabetics

It’s common for diabetics to get urinary tract infections (UTI). One of the reasons you may be more prone to this is because of inconsistent or high glucose levels. But you can also get a UTI if you don’t completely empty your bladder when you go to the bathroom – a common problem that affects diabetics and results in the bladder breeding unhealthy bacteria.

When that happens, it can lead to another common, but more serious infection known as a bladder infection. You can tell that you have a bladder infection when you go to urinate, and the urine feels hot or you get a burning sensation.

There might also be an odor. Sometimes, when you have a yeast infection, then you can end up with a fungal bladder infection. UTIs and bladder infections might not seem like such a serious condition, but they are for diabetics.

For someone with diabetes, if these aren’t treated promptly, it can lead to sepsis. Diabetics often get kidney infections. This can begin with a bladder infection and move to your kidneys.

The bacteria that causes the bladder infection is what can cause the kidney infection. Sometimes, a bladder infection can immediately turn into a kidney infection, which is then more serious.

The symptoms of a kidney infection can be mild, or they can be severe. You might have back pain, a fever or feel like you need to vomit. If the infection isn’t serious, you’ll be prescribed medication - but if it is serious, more aggressive treatment methods are needed.

If you have diabetes, you’re more likely to develop serious infections with your feet. There are two reasons this can happen. One is because when you have diabetes, you can develop neuropathy, which includes numbness in your limbs, so you won’t always feel it whenever there’s a problem with your feet.

You can get hurt and have an infection start and you won’t even notice it at first. The second reason is because when you have diabetes, the blood flow to the feet can become restricted, which can lead to poor circulation and swelling.

If you notice that your feet are always cold or you don’t have any hair on the lower part of your legs, that’s a sign. You can develop fungal infections on your feet that don’t go away and these infections can spread to other parts of your body.

People who have diabetes are prone to serious skin infections as well. You can get fungal infections that can crop up between your fingers or toes. But you can also get it on or under the nails on your hands and feet.

One of the more serious skin infections is called cellulitis. This type of infection goes beyond just the surface of the skin. It goes deep into the tissues. The symptoms of cellulitis include swelling in the area and skin that looks red and is warm or hot to the touch.

You may or may not develop a fever with this condition. Cellulitis is extremely dangerous and can cause gangrene, amputation and can be fatal. People with diabetes are also more prone to severe ear and sinus infections.

Another skin infection common to diabetics is Scleroderma Diabeticoru. This thickens the skin on your upper back or behind the neck. The condition Vitiligo, which discolors the skin, can also be a problem.

If you have darkened or thickened skin in some areas, such as the folds of your body, and it feels smooth and velvet-like, then you may be suffering from Acanthosis nigricans.

Many diabetics suffer from slow healing wounds, which tend to heal more quickly when your numbers are under control. Most often, it will be a foot ulcer that leads to an amputation of the foot because a simple sore becomes infected and painful.

Some of the signs that your body is fighting an infection include rashes, fevers, sores that weep, a cough that won’t go away, sinus drainage, itching in the genital area or cloudy urine.

You Can Prevent Serious Infections

Having diabetes does impact your health, but you can fight back. When you’re in control, you’re less likely to have complications such as coming down with a serious infection.

You must understand your risks. For example, the higher your glucose levels are, the more at risk you are of getting something your body can’t fight off. By keeping your sugar levels as normal as possible, you protect your immune system from damage.

That enables your body to fight off infections before they become serious. If you don’t keep your levels within a healthy range, you prevent your body from fighting for you - and that includes bacterial or viral infections.

When your immune system isn’t hampered by high glucose levels, it’s able to keep your white blood cells healthy in order to fight foreign invaders. Besides keeping your glucose level in check, try to live as healthy a lifestyle as you possibly can.

This means you need to get and keep your weight under control. Get the exercise and sleep that you need, too. It also means that you need to watch how many carbs you eat - not only throughout the day, but at any single meal or snack time.

The carbs in a food are what hike your blood sugar levels and if you consume too many carbs, your glucose level can stay high for longer periods. Stay up to date with your shots.

Vaccines can help a diabetic fight off serious infections, such as tetanus. Those with diabetes are high risk for tetanus without the vaccine because the compromised immune system has trouble fighting off this and other bacterial infections.

Diabetics should always get the pneumonia vaccine to protect them against getting bacterial pneumonia. Certain flu vaccines can also prevent you from getting certain strains of the flu that are particularly bad for diabetics.