Diabetes feeling cold in the foot often causes nerve damage

Cold feeling in the feet in diabetics indicates nerve damage

05/15/2014

In people with diabetes, a poor blood sugar control can cause damage to the nerves. Noticeably, these can make a cold or tingling sensation in the feet. Patients with such symptoms should inform their doctor.

Cold or tingling sensation in the feet
Poor glycaemia can cause damage to the nerves in people with diabetes. Affected individuals may notice such nerve damage, for example, when they feel a tingling sensation in their two feet, or when they feel that their feet are too cold, even though they feel warm when touched. The medical center for quality in medicine (ÄZQ) points this out, according to a message from the news agency dpa. Another indication could be that a wound on the foot does not hurt, as the sensation of pain is disturbed.

Control your feet every day
If patients notice such or other supposedly minor ailments, they should inform their doctor. Although nerve damage in diabetes (diabetic neuropathy) can not be cured, they can be mitigated and slowed down if they are diagnosed and treated in good time, as the ÄZQ explains in a new leaflet. Patients should check their feet every day for blisters and red or torn areas, to detect changes in time. Neither shoes nor stockings should press or constrict.

Therapies can relieve symptoms
Doctors use different drugs to treat pain and discomfort when treating neuropathy. In particular, drugs that were originally developed for the treatment of depression or epileptic seizures have proven to be effective. This is because with the help of antidepressants and antiepileptic drugs, the perception of pain in the brain can be influenced so that the symptoms improved significantly. Traditional analgesics would usually not work on neuropathy, experts say. Basically, the nerve damage but not healed, but only their symptoms are alleviated. So that the neuropathy does not worsen, it is important to treat the blood sugar as well as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol values ​​as well as possible. It can help a healthy lifestyle with reduction of obesity and a lot of movement. (Sb)