What is Diabetic Neuropathy?

Introduction

Diabetic neuropathy is a complication of diabetes that causes nerve damage. High blood sugar (glucose) can result in damaged nerves throughout the body. The symptoms can range from numbness to discomfort in the hands, feet, and legs, depending on which nerves are impacted.

Additionally, it may result in issues with the heart, blood vessels, digestive system, and urinary tract. Diabetic neuropathy more commonly affects the nerve in the hands and feet, resulting in diabetic hands and diabetic feet.

What are the different Types of Diabetic Neuropathy?

There are many types of diabetic neuropathy depending on the types of nerves damaged. They are as follows:

• Peripheral neuropathy: It is a highly prevalent nerve injury that usually affects the feet and legs but can also affect the hands and arms.
• Autonomic neuropathy: It is a disorder where the nerves that control your internal organs are damaged. Hence, there are issues with your blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, bladder, sex organs, sweat glands, and eyes, which may result in hypoglycemic ignorance.
• Focal neuropathy: Focal neuropathies are conditions where just one nerve is often affected, most frequently in the hand, head, chest, or leg. Entrapment syndromes, including carpal tunnel syndrome, are the most prevalent kinds of focal neuropathy.
• Proximal neuropathy: It is a rare and incapacitating form of nerve injury in your hip, buttock, or thigh. Usually, just one side of your body is affected by the damage, and it rarely spreads to the other side.

What are the Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy?

The four different types of diabetic neuropathy have different symptoms and differ in individual cases. The common symptoms of each type of diabetic neuropathy are as follows:

Periphery neuropathy symptoms

• Tingling or burn sensation
• Muscle weakness
• Numb hands and legs
• Losing sensation to feel pain or temperature changes
• Extreme sensitivity to touch
• Excruciating cramps
• Bone damage
• Joint pains
• Ulcers and infections

Autonomic neuropathy symptoms

• Slow stomach emptying, causing nausea, vomiting, sensation of fullness, and loss of appetite
• Difficulty rising from a sitting position
• Chest or abdominal wall pain
• Low blood sugar levels or not knowing the lowering of blood sugar levels.
• Increased or decreased sweating
• Vaginal dryness in women and erectile dysfunction in men
• Bladder or bowel problems
• Low blood pressure which causes dizziness or fainting

Proximal neuropathy symptoms

• Severe pain in the buttock, hip or thigh
• Chest or abdominal wall pain
• Weak thigh muscles
• Difficulty sitting up or standing up

Focal Neuropathy symptoms

• Numbness or tingling in hand or fingers
• Pain in the shin or foot
• Weakness
• Pain in the front of the thigh
• Paralysis on one side of the face
• Weak hands
• Double vision

What are the Causes of Diabetic Neuropathy?

• Diabetes: Small-fibre neuropathy results from diabetes, which causes painful burning sensations in a patient’s hands and feet.
• Trauma: Neuropathy can be brought on by fractures, vehicle accidents, sports injuries, or falls.
• Autoimmune diseases: Some diseases like chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Guillain-Barré syndrome can cause diabetic neuropathy in patients.
  
• Infections: Neuropathy can also be brought on by illnesses like HIV, herpes, hepatitis C, Lyme disease, chickenpox, leprosy, West Nile virus, shingles, Epstein-Barr virus, and syphilis.
  
• Other medical conditions: Myeloma, lymphoma, monoclonal gammopathy, hypothyroidism, and tumours can all cause neuropathy.
• Medications and toxins: Some HIV medications, anti-seizure medications, and antibiotics can result in neuropathy.
• Vascular disorders: Neuropathy sometimes develops when inflammation, blood clots, or similar issues with blood vessels reduce or impede blood flow to the arms and legs.
• Genetic disorders: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, familial amyloidosis, Fabry disease, and metachromatic leukodystrophy are the most prevalent hereditary neuropathy.

What is Diabetic Foot?

One of the most common consequences of diabetic neuropathy is diabetic foot. High blood sugar levels damage the nerves and blood arteries in the foot, making your feet numb, tingly or painful. Hence, if the foot is numb, you might not be aware if your foot has a cut, blister, or ulcer (an open sore). Such a wound might become infected. Due to the compromised blood flow in your foot caused by the damaged blood vessels, the infection may not heal properly. Gangrene can develop due to an infection because of insufficient blood flow. Consequently, the muscle, skin, and other tissues begin to deteriorate.

Conclusion

Diabetes can lead to diabetic neuropathy, which is damage to the nerves. Diabetes results in excessive levels of blood lipids, such as triglycerides, and blood glucose, which can damage your nerves over time.The type of diabetic neuropathy you have will determine your symptoms. One of the most common neuropathy is periphery neuropathy, where the nerves of hands and feet are damaged, causing diabetic hands and diabetic feet.