ELI5. Why does recovery from an injury or cut, takes longer time for a person with high blood sugar than a normal person
In: 69
As a diabetic, let me take this one:
We’ve all seen sugar crystals. They are sharp edged cubes. Even when the sugar is in your bloodstream, it’s still basically a sharp edged cube. Sugar crystals hitch rides on red blood cells, which look like the inner tubes you find on the Lazy River at water parks.
Normally, there’s just a few of these sharp crystals on each red blood cell. But when you have high blood sugar, there are many more of them. And when the red blood cells get out of your arteries, and into the tiny little capillaries that service your actual skin and muscle, those sugar crystals are now bumping up against the sides of the capillaries. The sharp edges work like scouring pads, tearing up the capillary walls and preventing nutrients from getting to where they need to go. That’s why so many diabetics like me end up with poor sensation in their feet and fingers.
Latest Answers