Is Pain in Feet a Sign of Diabetes?
Diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage that you can incur if you have high blood sugar. It can damage many nerves throughout your body, but it is both the most common and most dangerous to the nerves in your feet and legs.
The symptoms range from pain and numbness to problems with your digestive system, blood vessels, heart, and urinary tract. You may have mild symptoms or it can be much more serious and be disabling to you.
What are the Types of Diabetic Foot Neuropathy?
Four distinct and different types of diabetic foot neuropathy exist peripheral, autonomic, radiculoplexus and mononeuropathy.
According to the Mayo Clinic, peripheral neuropathy is the most commonly seen type of diabetic neuropathy and it starts in the feet and legs first, then it travels to the arms and hands. The symptoms are most often worse at night and they include a numbness or a reduced ability to feel either pain or temperature changes. You may have sensations of burning, tingling, sharp cramps or pain and your feet may be sensitive to the touch. You can experience muscle weakness, loss of your reflexes in the ankles and have a loss of balance. This type of diabetic foot disease can become very serious in the forms of ulcers, bone and joint pain and large infections.
Foot Care
Many different things that can affect any person’s foot can be more problematic for a person with diabetes. Some of the common foot ailments are athlete’s foot fungus, fungal nail infections, calluses, corns, blisters, bunions, and ingrown toenails. Very dry feet will allow your skin to crack and germs can then enter to become infected. In very severe cases of diabetic patients, an infection can then turn into a very deep sore called a foot ulcer, which takes quite a long time to heal. If you notice any of these conditions that are taking a long time to heal, you may have diabetes and need to visit your physician.
Diabetic Foot Care
You can use proper diabetic foot care to help prevent these common foot problems or treat them before they become seriously complicated. It is best to follow the diabetic plan that your physician has given you. This includes exercising, your medication and eating right to maintain the blood sugar level that your doctor wants you to maintain. Wash your feet in warm water with a mild soap every day and then dry your feet very well, especially between your toes. Do a daily foot check by touch and by sight. You can use a hand-held mirror to see the bottom of your feet as you inspect them for blisters, any type of sores, calluses or redness. If you have dry skin on your feet, use a lotion after you clean and dry your feet, but do not put the lotion between your toes as this can keep the area moist and lead to fungus. Trim your toenails straight across with nail clippers to prevent ingrown toenails. Wear shoes with closed toes or slippers at all times, even while you are in the house to prevent cuts or other lesions. Wear socks or stockings with your shoes that have soft elastic. Make sure your shoes fit well and they are made of canvas or leather. You can find wide shoe widths to accommodate your feet and break in new shoes slowly to avoid blisters. Before you put your shoes on, check inside of them to make sure there is not anything in them by mistake. Protect your feet from the cold and the heat by wearing socks at night if your feet or cold and shoes while at the beach or walking on the pavement. Put your feet up when sitting if you can and wiggle your toes and ankles each day to keep good blood circulation to your feet. It is best not to cross your legs when you sit too, for good circulation.
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