Written By: Dr Arjun Srivatsa | Updated : May 21, 2014 12:28 PM IST
November is Diabetes Awareness Month.
According to leading diabetologists diabetes is not just a blood sugar problem, it is a vascular disorder. That means that diabetes affects the entire body including your nerves. Renowned neurosurgeon Dr Arjun Srivatsa writes more about diabetic neuropathy a condition that affects the nerves and can have serious complications.
The cry of the dying nerves
In diabetic patients who have had the condition for a long time, the nerves get affected and causes various symptoms of nerve damage. This is because the nerves receive progressively lesser blood supply due to constricted blood vessels. Since, it can affect any kind of nerve in the body, the symptoms can be as varied as numbness (either localized or al over the body) to urinary problems.
Depending on the type of nerve being affected, the disease can been classified into 4 types - peripheral, autonomic, proximal and focal. Peripheral would mean that the peripheral nerves being affected and so symptoms of numbness tingling in the periphery. Autonomic would mean affection of nerves of the visceral systems like the digestive system, urinary system, etc. proximal neuropathy would mean the proximal muscles are affected and in focal, specific nerve gets affected causing defects only in those nerve distribution.
Symptoms vary according to the part affected
Based on the type of neuropathy described above the symptoms can be
Keeping blood sugar levels in check is key
Monitoring blood glucose levels frequently and ensuring that they are under check helps. Foot care treatment to prevent infections and ulcers due to the lack of sensation may be required in some cases. In case of severe pain, drugs to help alleviate the pain - tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants like pregabalin, carbamezapine, opiod and oipiod like drugs do help. (Read: Take regular foot assessment test if you have diabetes)
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.
You may also like to read:
For more articles on diabetes, check out our diabetes section and Diabetes page. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.
