In people with diabetes, the body's nerves can be damaged by decreased blood flow and a high blood sugar level. This condition is more likely when blood sugar level is not well controlled.
About half of people with diabetes develop nerve damage. Symptoms often do not begin until many years after diabetes has been diagnosed. Some persons who have diabetes that develops slowly already have nerve damage when they are first diagnosed.
Diabetes can damage the nerves and cause a complication called neuropathy. This generally begins as loss of sensation in the toes, and possibly fingers. Eventually, the neuropathy can move up the person's legs or arms.
Symptoms often develop slowly over many years. The types of symptoms you have depend on the nerves that are affected.
When the nerves that control digestion are affected, you may have trouble digesting food. This can make your diabetes harder to control. Symptoms of digestion problems include:
Feeling full after eating only a small amount of food
Throwing up undigested food a few hours after a meal
When nerves in the arms and legs are affected, symptoms often start in the toes and feet, and include tingling or burning, or deep aching pain. As the damage gets worse, you will likely lose feeling in your arms and legs. Because of this, you may:
Not notice when you step on something sharp
Not know that you have a blister or small cut
Not notice when your feet or hands touch something that is too hot or cold
When nerves in your heart and blood vessels are damaged, you may:
Feel light-headed when you stand up (orthostatic hypotension)
Have a fast heart rate
Not notice angina, the chest pain that warns of heart disease and heart attack
Other symptoms of nerve damage are:
Sexual problems, which cause erection problems in men and vaginal dryness or orgasm problems in women
Not being able to tell when your blood sugar gets too low
Bladder problems, which cause urine leakage or not being able to empty the bladder.
Sweating too much, even when the temperature is cool, or at rest, or other unusual times
Follow your health care provider's advice on how to slow diabetic nerve damage.
Control your blood sugar (glucose) level by:
Eating healthy foods
Getting regular exercise
Checking it as often as instructed and keeping a record of your numbers so that you know the things that affect you level
Taking medicine or insulin as instructed by your health care provider
To treat the symptoms of nerve damage, your health care provider may prescribe medicines to treat:
Pain in your feet, legs, or arms
Nausea, vomiting or other digestion problems
Bladder problems
Erection problems or vaginal dryness
When you have nerve damage in your feet, the feeling in your feet can be reduced. You can even have no feeling at all. As a result, your feet may not heal well if they are injured. Caring for your feet can prevent minor problems from becoming so serious that you end up in the hospital.
Caring for your feet includes:
Checking and caring for your feet every day
Getting a foot exam each time you see your health care provider
Wearing the right kind of socks and shoes (ask your health care provider about this)
Периферическая нейропатия представляет собой общую потерю функций чувствительных нервов, с помощью которых мозг реагирует на боль, осязание, температуру, вибрации, а также моторных нервов, отвечающих за деятельность мышц, контролирующих движения. Периферийная невропатия поражает, главным образом, ступни, ноги и руки.
Симптомы появляются постепенно и включают:
Онемение, жжение и покалывание.
Потерю чувствительности.
Боль в пораженной области.
Периферическую нейропатию могут вызвать такие условия как нарушение обмена веществ, например, диабет, либо воспалительные процессы, например, ВИЧ-инфекции. Другими причинами являются воздействие токсичных веществ и реакция на определенные лекарственные препараты.
Лечение зависит от причины. Если повреждение нервов несерьезное, то периферийную невропатию может ослабить лечение причины.
