Diabetes and nerve damage

Your nervous system, which consists of around 100 billion nerve cells in the brain alone, controls your entire body. Outside the brain and spinal cord, there are peripheral nerves responsible for sensing things like temperature, pain, touch, and muscle movement. In diabetes, high blood sugar can harm these nerves, leading to a condition known as 'neuropathy'. When neuropathy combines with poor circulation, it can cause unusual and severe symptoms in your legs.

Over 420 million people worldwide have diabetes¹, making it one of the biggest health challenges of the 21st century. Over time, at least 50% of people with diabetes experience nerve damage², often without any noticeable symptoms.

Symptoms of neuropathy

Unusual sensations
Diabetes tends to affect the ends of the longest nerves first, starting with the feet and then the hands. It can feel like you're wearing gloves and stockings, with sensations of numbness, tingling, pricking, or even "electric shocks" along the nerves.
Pain problems
Damaged nerves can cause distressing and disabling pain. This pain is often worse at night and can be described as stabbing, burning, squeezing, throbbing, or freezing. Skin can become extremely sensitive, even a light touch can feel like a burn from a hot object. Poor circulation can also lead to painful leg cramps.
Muscle weakness
The nerves that control muscle movements can transmit signals at high speed. When these nerves are damaged, it can result in leg cramps and muscle weakness. Other warning signs include foot deformities like hammer toes and changes in your walking pattern.
Dry skin
Damaged nerves can affect your sweat glands, leading to decreased sweating, which can make your legs and feet dry and prone to cracking and infections.
Foot ulcers
Pain can serve as a warning sign for issues like ill-fitting footwear or foreign objects in your shoes. However, loss of sensation due to nerve damage, coupled with poor circulation, can worsen injuries and lead to slow-healing wounds or ulcers.

Diabetes: The facts, and how you can look after your leg health

References

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