Health Life Media

A Healthier You For A Better Tomorrow

Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes

Understanding Nerve Damage (Nueropathy)

diabetes-nerve-damageOne of the more common complications from diabetes is neuropathy (new-ROP-uh-thee)or nerve damage. Unfortunately about have all people that are diagnosed with diabetes has some form of nerve damage. Neuropathy is most common in cases where people have had diabetes for several years, and can often lead to other types of problems.

Neuropathy can often develop when diabetes goes untreated as when a person blood glucose levels are on target, you may prevent or delay nerve damage. If you already have nerve damage, keeping your blood glucose levels inline will prevent and delay further damage. There are also other types of treatments that are available.

There a multiple types of neuropathy, two of the most common ones, are Peripheral Neuropathy (causes pain, tingling, numbness and weakness in hands and feet) and Autonomic Neuropathy, which  affects the nerves in the body that controls the different systems in the body. We will discuss these more later.

Diabetic_Autonomic_NeuropathyAutonomic Neuropathy is not specific to any disease,  The damage will disrupt signals between the brain and autonomic nervous systems, which include, liver sweat glands, heart, and blood vessels,. They will decrease or cause abnormal performance in the involuntary functions of the body.

Symptoms for autonomic neuropathy can vary and change depending on the affected parts.

  • You can become dizzy and fain,w hen you stand, caused by blood pressure.
  • Urinary problems, There can be difficult urinating or urinary incontinence and inability to empty the bladder.
  • Sexual difficulties including erectile dysfunction ,ejaculation problems in men and vaginal dryness for women.
  • Difficult in digesting food because of abnormal digestive function and slow emptying. This can you feel full after eating very little food, or  loss in your appetite, You may have nausea, vomiting or diarrhea or heartburn.
  • Abnormal sweating, excessive sweat or decrease sweating with the body unable to regulate body.
  • Pupil reaction is slow, as the eye has trouble adjusting to light or darkness, perhaps causing issues driving at night.
  • Unable to exercise, heart rate remains unchanged instead of increasing in corresponding to the change in activity.

diabetic-peripheral-neuropathyPeripheral neuropathy is the result of damage to the peripheral neuropathy,  The nervous send information from your brain and spinal cord to the other parts of the body.Peripheral neuropathy can happen after a traumatic experience or infections, metabolic problems and inherited genetic issues. People with Peripheral neuropathy, usually describe the pain as burning or stabbing.

Symptoms for peripheral can vary and depend on the area of the body that is affected. Nerves can be categorized in following:

  • Sensory nerves that take in temperature, pain, feelings and touch.
  • Motor nerves that control Muscle movement
  • Autonomic nerves that control, blood pressure heart and bladder

The symptoms for  peripheral neuropathy can include:

  • Gradual numbness or tingling in hands or feet and spread throughout legs and arm
  • Extreme sensory to touch
  • Lack of coordination
  • Extreme sensitive to feeling and touch
  • Muscle wakeners or paralysis that affect  motor skills.
  • Sharp pain and burins pain

There are ways to prevent neuropathy.

The good news is that there are many things you can do to prevent or delay nerve damage. If you already have nerve damage, you can prevent or delay further damage and reduce your symptoms.

The Main thing that you will want to is keep your Blood Glucose levels in check, by making sure it is your target ranch. It’s important to make sure planning your meals, physical activity and medications if needed, these things can help you get in range. There are two ways to keep track of your blood glucose levels. The first is the blood glucose meter  to help you manage your day-to-day care. The second is the A1C test (a lab test) that can used twice a year to find your average blood glucose level over the past 2 to 3 months. It is recommended that children take these test every 3 months.

By checking your blood glucose levels you will be able to monitor whether you diabetes treatment plan is working and you can  make the needed changes. The first thing that you should doe is report any symptoms of  diabetic neuropathy to your doctor. If you experience any issues or problems then you should contact your doctor so that early treatment can prevent problems from developing later on. For example if you you take care of a foot infection early you can prevent more drastic measures of treatment such as amputation.

You should take care of you feet, and check them every day for cuts, bruise or sores. You may not feel pain in your feet or even notice a foot injury, so you should look in the mirror and bottoms and feet. You should see if you have breaks in skin, or dry skin. Also check for corns, calluses, blisters, red areas, swelling, ingrown toenails and toenail infections. This small things can lead to infections and greater complications left untreated.

You should protect you feet by putting lotion on your skin, but not between your toes, wear shoes and socks that fit well, use warm water to wash your feet dry them carefully afterwards. If you need specials shoes, you can ask your health care provider about it. You should also be careful when you exercise not to cause blisters.