Diabetes is anything but a simple diagnosis, as the condition can cast a wide net over your health. One example of this is peripheral neuropathy — up to half of people with diabetes develop nerve damage, which can set the stage for more serious issues, including amputation.
If you consider that more than 40 million Americans have diabetes, which represents about 12% of the overall population, you can see just how big this problem can be.
Since April is National Foot Health Awareness Month, our team of diabetic neuropathy experts at Pain Medicine Consultants thought it would be a good idea to address this common complication of diabetes.
With that in mind, we want to present some basic information about peripheral neuropathy alongside some best practices for managing this condition.
When you have diabetes, high glucose levels in your blood can damage blood vessels and nerves, causing them to malfunction. This neuropathy typically affects those blood vessels that are farthest from your heart, which means your lower legs, ankles, and feet.
As a result, people can experience pain, numbness, and tingling in their lower extremities, but these symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg. Once this nerve damage sets in, it leaves you far more vulnerable to a potentially devastating cascade of events.
Each year in the United States, about 1.6 million people develop a diabetic foot ulcer. About 50% to 60% of these ulcers become infected. Of these infections, about 20% eventually lead to amputation. In fact, diabetes is the leading driver of amputation.
Now let’s take our discussion in a far more positive direction and outline the best strategies for managing diabetic neuropathy so you can ward off life-changing outcomes. These best practices include:
Your first order of business is to work closely with your diabetes team to manage your glucose levels. This is not only important in preventing diabetic neuropathy, but containing it if it develops.
If you start to experience changes in your feet — namely the previously mentioned pain, numbness, and tingling — notify us about them so we can assess the nerve damage and guide you moving forward.
When you have peripheral neuropathy, you might not notice when there’s a problem in your foot due to the loss of sensation. So it’s very important that you clean and inspect your feet daily, preferably at night before you go to bed.
Any break in your skin — even a blister — can turn into a slow-healing foot wound, so you stay ahead of any foot damage.
If you do find a break in your skin, get it checked out straightaway so you can stay one step ahead of infection.
If you have numbness in your feet due to neuropathy, don’t walk around without shoes on.
When it comes to the shoes you should wear, we want you in footwear that allows your feet ample room to spread out and that supports your entire foot.
To give you an idea about the importance of footwear, consider breaking in new shoes, which can lead to open blisters. Or wearing ill-fitting shoes that can cause friction. Instead, focus on footwear that’s gentle, but supportive for your feet.
We can guide you on footwear, as there are companies that design shoes specifically for diabetes and neuropathy.
While it may not be possible to reverse diabetic neuropathy in your feet, you can manage the condition in a way that will help you avoid a very unfortunate outcome.
If you’d like more information about managing diabetic neuropathy, we’re happy to help you. To sit down with one of our specialists, contact one of our offices in Pleasant Hill, Corte Madera, or Pleasanton, California, to schedule an appointment.
