Taking a Look at Peripheral Neuropathy

Explain, that diabetes is the most common cause of neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy. Your feet and legs are often affected first, followed by your hands and arms.

Diabetes is a disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

They include: heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth. In regards to the heart and blood vessels, there are approximately 65% of death that is caused by diabetes due to major complication of heart disease and stroke. In the peripheral artery diseases diabetes also plays a major role in the cause of poor blood flow in the legs and feet. Many studies show that controlling diabetes can prevent or stop the progression of heart and blood vessel disease. Blood vessel damage or nerve damage may also lead to foot problems that can lead to amputations. More than 60% of leg and foot amputations not related to an injury are due to diabetes. Another complication of diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. There has been a number of eye problems that if not addressed can lead to eye blindness which include: glaucoma,cataracts and diabetic retinopathy. Ninety percent of diabetic-related blindness as study shown could be prevented if there would be regular eye exams and timely treatment of diabetes-related eye problems. Furthermore, kidney failure is also one leading cause of further complication that resulted from uncontrolled diabetes in the U.S. It is said that drugs that help lower blood pressure can help the chance to developing kidney failure by 33%. Also diabetes on nerves can lead to loss of sensation or pain and burning of the feet because nerves are harmed due to over time high blood sugar levels. It can also

Those who are diabetic may also be in risk of blindness (diabetic retinopathy) and nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy). Diabetic neuropathy can lead to numbness in hands and feet, foot ulcers, and eventual limb amputation (World Health Organization). Taking preventive steps can help to avoid many of the complications of diabetes.

Most patients who have diabetes for an extended amount of time may end up with diabetic neuropathy, which is damage caused to the nerves; it affects the peripheral nerves, autonomic nerves, and focal nerves. From the high blood sugar, it can destroy parts of the patient’s blood vessels, heart, and kidneys. If diabetes is not treated, it will almost always cause heart disease or kidney disease.

Why are nerves often damaged in patients with diabetes mellitus, and what are some of the

Diabetic neuropathy can occur with long-term diabetes, usually after several years of uncontrolled high blood glucose. Glucose proteins, called glycoproteins, form in the nerves primarily those in the legs and feet. When the nerves in the feet are damaged, the brain cannot recognize pain in that area. Nerve damage from diabetic neuropathy can lead to weakness in the muscles in the legs and feet. Since the muscles work as a system, neuropathy can lead to other foot problems, such as hammertoes, calluses, bunions, and other foot deformities. These deformities are dangerous because of the risk of infection. A simple blister from a tight shoe can spell disaster

7. Examine your feet. Diabetes-related nerve damage can mean that you might have minor injuries to your feet that you can’t feel. This can lead to infections and other complications. Check the soles of your feet daily. Put lotion on them at night to keep the skin in good condition. Wear comfortable shoes that fit correctly. Ask your doctor to examine your feet whenever you have an office visit.

It is estimated that 387 million people, globally live with diabetes (Phillips & Mehl, 2015). According to Medical News Today [MNT], diabetes is a metabolic disorder; which causes patients to be extremely thirsty and produce a lot of urine. Diabetes arises due to high blood pressure, due to the body not being able to produce enough insulin or because the body does not respond well to high insulin levels (MNT, 2016). There are four types of diabetes; there is the pre-diabetic stage, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. In 2014, 29 million people died due to diabetes. This equates to 1 diabetic patient dying every seven seconds due to preventable complications (including complications affecting lower limbs) caused by diabetes. It is said that 20-40% of health care costs are spent on the treatment of lower limb complications due to diabetes. The risk of a diabetic patient developing a foot ulcer is 25% and foot ulcers account approximately 85% of lower limb amputations. Diabetic complications that affect lower limbs are caused by both type 1 and type 2 diabetes (Phillips & Mehl, 2015). It is said that the World Health Organization described diabetic foot syndrome as including all possible complications in relation to the feet of a diabetic patient. Diabetic foot syndrome is defined as the ulceration of the foot, from the ankle downwards. Causes of foot ulceration include peripheral sensory neuropathy, vascular disease (ischaemia) and infection

People who have cancer, shingles, and diabetes are more susceptible to be Diabetic Neuropathy victims. They often experience the effects of this condition in their legs and feet, so it is very important for people with this condition to take care of their feet. Some of the symptoms are numbness, tingling, pain, and burning. Nerve pain varies in everyone with this condition. Some people may feel like they are walking on hot coals or sleeping with stabbing pains while other people may just not be able to feel their fingertips and it is like they are wearing gloves. People who have more severe cases often have trouble sleeping because they feel excruciating pain from the weight of their bodies on the bed and pain and burning just from the pressure from a blanket. Creams, sprays, and medications can help decrease the symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy, but in the end, it just comes down to living a healthy

Neuropathy (nerve damage) - Extra sugar builds up in the tiny vessels that provide circulation to your nerves. When sugar builds up, the diabetic begins to lose feeling in extremities, usually lower limbs, starting with tingling and leading to complete nerve damage. Nerve damage to the stomach can cause constipation or diarrhea as well as erectile dysfunction in men.

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common microvascular complications in diabetes and can result in foot ulceration, ampuation and an impaired quality of life(Carrington AL, et al 2002,Boulton AJ,et al 2004). The reported prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy ranges from 16% to as high as 66%2 and its prevelance is believed to increase with the duration of diabetes and poor glucose control.(Boulton AJ.et al 2000) It’s accounts for 50–75% of non-traumatic amputations in diabetic patients.(Holzer SE, et al 1998, Boulton AJM, 1998,Malay DS, et al 2006)

Neuropathy – this Nerve Damage is caused by Sugar present in high levels which is capable of injuring the walls of the tiny capillaries within the blood vessels that nourish your nerves specifically in your legs. Resulting in feeling such as numbness, burning, tingling staring at the tips of the toes or fingers is usually felt as pain and gradually spreads upward. When this is left untreated

Peripheral neuropathy is obviously one of the major complications of chronic diabetes, which affects the nerves and leads to loss of sensation, numbness, and pain in the legs, feet, or even hands. Sadly, peripheral neuropathy is likely to affect approximately 70% of people with diabetes. However, not all people who develop this type of complication experience serious pain.

It has been established that there are at present no adequate forms of preventing CIPN (Cavaletti, 2014). Additionally, CIPN is often under-rated and under-reported particularly as patients do not like to miss treatments (Stubblefield et al., 2009). Therefore, comprehensive evaluations using standardized and sensitive assessment tools to prevent severe neurotoxicity are a critical step for early intervention. According to Stubblefield et al. (2012), it is essential a baseline assessment including any preexisting neuropathy and predisposing factors, such as diabetes, be performed prior to initiation of treatment. This baseline assessment should include not only subjective symptoms, but assessment of strength, reflexes and