One of the most prevalent illnesses of the endocrine glands and the most prevalent metabolic condition is diabetes. It is described as a chronically high blood sugar condition that can be brought on by decreased insulin secretion or several other counter-insular mechanisms.
The most frequent complication of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy, also known as diabetic polyneuropathy. Damage to the nerves in the hands and legs is referred to as diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This diabetes complication can affect both people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
On both legs, it often happens symmetrically.
There are various types of diabetic neuropathy depending on how the nervous system is involved, including mononeuropathy, which affects just one nerve, autonomic neuropathy, which typically impacts the heart, blood vessels, digestive system, and urinary system, as well as distal sensory and motor neuropathy.
Nerve issues can appear in diabetics at any time. Within the first ten years following a diabetes diagnosis, significant clinical neuropathy might appear, and the likelihood of getting neuropathy rises with the duration of diabetes.
Causes
Although the exact origin of diabetic neuropathy is yet unknown, several factors probably have a role. Chemical alterations in the nerves are a result of diabetes-related high blood glucose levels.
These modifications lessen the nerve's capacity to send impulses. The blood arteries that supply the nerves with oxygen and nourishment are also harmed by high blood sugar levels.
Additionally, some persons may be more prone to nerve illness than others due to inherited factors that are likely unrelated to diabetes.
An extended duration of sustained elevated blood sugar levels leads to diabetic neuropathy.
Nerve injury may also result from other sources, such as:
High cholesterol levels can harm blood arteries,
lifestyle choices (drinking or smoking),
mechanical wounds.
Symptoms
Patients report tingling, burning, cramping, and nocturnal aches, which typically affect the lower leg muscles but can also affect the forearms. On the extremities, there is frequently a milder sensation of warmth and touch in the shape of "socks" and "gloves." In contrast to peripheral
arterial disease, where complaints happen while walking, it is normal for diabetic neuropathy symptoms to be worse during rest, especially at night. There are fewer complaints now.
The range of symptoms is wide, from no symptoms at all to excruciating pain that keeps the patient up at night. Patients frequently complain that they must get up throughout the night to go for a walk.
The most typical signs are:
a numb sensation in the legs
Touch sensitivity issues
decreased temperature and pain perception
burning feeling
Treatment
The purpose of treatment is to lessen discomfort and stop future tissue damage. Controlling your blood sugar with food, oral medications, or insulin injections, when needed, and by meticulously monitoring your blood sugar levels is the first step.
Keeping blood sugar levels low helps reverse he pain or loss of sensation that neuropathy can cause, even if symptoms may occasionally get worse at first while blood sugar is under control. Additionally, good blood sugar management
can help stop or postpone subsequent issues.