Before we cover “Does diabetes lead to poor circulation” we would like to explain more about the bodies circulation or circulatory system.
What is your Bodies Circulation or Circulatory System?
The bodies blood runs in pipe-like structures called blood vessels. These blood vessels are like pipes and tunnels that carry your blood to each and every cell of your body. This is important because blood gives your bodies cells exactly what they need. That includes sugar, oxygen and a lot of other nutrients. Which is the system that forms the circulation or circulatory system.
What Happens to Circulation in Diabetes?
People with diabetes have problems with their hands and feet. This is because they have a problem with blood circulation. The blood does not reach the hands or feet as they should, and eventually, these body parts become numb. Poor blood circulation is the main reason why people with diabetes wounds don’t heal as fast as expected.
Diabetes damages body cells. The lack of insulin in diabetes means your cells are not getting enough blood sugar. Cells feed on blood sugar and insulin handles delivering this sugar to your cells. If they do not get enough food, they become weak and get damaged. Another reason why your body cells damage in diabetes is due to sugar itself. Extra sugar turns into a poison that directly damages your body cells.
Cells are everywhere in the body, including your blood vessels. With the damage of cells in your blood vessels, your blood vessels start to swell. This distorts their structure and affects the flow of blood within them.
Damaged blood cells affect the ability of the blood vessel to deliver the right amount of blood to different parts of the body, especially to the hands and feet.
What To Do When Diabetes Leads To Poor Circulation?
- If you have diabetes, you should get an annual foot test. The test will help you examine the level of blood circulation, and it can potentially prevent damage to your feet.
- Regular exercise can help in treating poor blood circulation.
- If you’re a smoker, stop smoking. Not smoking will improve the circulation of blood in your body.