1. How Type 1 Diabetes can cause kidney complications?

Diabetes can cause damage to your kidneys over a long period of time making it harder to clear extra fluid and waste from your body. This is caused by high blood glucose levels and high blood pressure. It is known as diabetic nephropathy or kidney disease.
In its early stages, kidney disease doesn’t cause symptoms, but over time it can cause kidney failure. This means they stop working and dialysis is needed to clean the blood as the kidneys normally would. It is really important to detect kidney disease early enough, the damage can sometimes be reversed.

2. Spotting kidney disease early.

Because you may not have visible symptoms in the early stages, it is really important to have tests for kidney disease every year.
Your albumin level will be measured in your urine and your creatinine in a blood sample to determine how healthy your kidneys are. Thanks to those 2 tests, the disease can be spotted early and slowed down with treatment.
If kidney disease progresses, you could notice symptoms like:

• Swollen ankles, feet, and hands
• Blood in your pee (urine)
• Feeling really tired
• Being short of breath
• Feeling sick

You may be feeling like this because your kidneys are struggling to clear extra fluid and waste from your body. But these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, so it’s important to talk to your doctor for more information and advice.

3. Tips to reduce the risk of kidney disease.

• Keep your blood glucose levels within your target range
• Keep your blood pressure down
• Follow the healthy eating guidelines
• Try to exercice 30 min per day

HelloType1 content is based on published, internationally recognised guidelines and then reviewed by local experts to ensure it fits local context. The translation is based on simplified English language to ensure it conveys the safest and clearest possible message in regional languages. Basic insulin and blood glucose testing access is still an issue in the South-East Asia region and our chief aim is to address this. HelloType1 content is not intended to replace the advice of individual healthcare professionals but as a collaborative tool to help them improve the outcomes of disadvantaged people with Type 1 Diabetes in the region.