Diabetic footDiabetic foot ulcer, Foot ulcerFoot problems caused by diabetes, where nerve damage hides an injury and poor circulation stops it healing. It is the leading cause of non-traumatic amputation.
Diabetic neuropathy
Pronounced new-ROP-uh-thee
Also known as Diabetic nerve damage, Peripheral neuropathy
Nerve damage from long-standing high blood sugar, usually starting in the feet as numbness, tingling or burning.
It begins in the longest nerves, which is why the feet go first, and it spreads upward in a pattern doctors call "stocking and glove".
What people describe
- Numbness — the commonest, and the most dangerous
- Burning or shooting pain, typically worse at night
- Pins and needles
- Feet that feel cold to the patient but are warm to touch
Nerve damage cannot be reversed, but tight blood sugar control halts its progress, and the pain can be treated.
Related terms
- DiabetesDiabetes mellitus, SugarDiabetes is a condition in which blood glucose stays too high, either because the body makes too little insulin or because it has stopped responding to it. Pakistan has one of the highest rates in the world, and a large share of people with it do not yet know.
- HbA1cGlycated haemoglobin, A1cHbA1c measures the proportion of haemoglobin that has sugar stuck to it, which reflects the average blood glucose over roughly the past three months. It needs no fasting and is used both to diagnose diabetes and to judge how well it is controlled.
- Diabetic retinopathyDiabetic eye diseaseDamage to the small blood vessels at the back of the eye caused by years of high blood sugar. It causes no symptoms until it is advanced.