Diabetes mellitus is a serious chronic disease that occurs with numerous pathologies of internal organs and systems. Diabetes causes irreversible changes in the organs of vision, in the heart and blood vessels, in the central and peripheral nervous system.
Therefore, diabetic patients often complain of serious ailments, which begin to manifest themselves almost from the first days of the disease. One of the most common complaints of diabetics is associated with numbness in the toes, which eventually lose sensitivity and become cold to the touch.
Such symptoms indicate the development of the most formidable complications of diabetes mellitus – angiopathy and neuropathy, which are characterized by serious damage to large and small blood vessels and nerve endings. Over time, they can lead to dire consequences, including amputation of limbs.
Therefore, it is important for every patient with diabetes mellitus to know why toes go numb and how to properly treat this dangerous diabetic syndrome.
Causes
The main reason why numbness of the toes is observed in diabetes mellitus is a violation of blood circulation and nerve conduction of the feet. These symptoms develop as a result of a chronically high blood sugar level, which destroys the walls of blood vessels and negatively affects hemostasis.
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This significantly impairs blood microcirculation in the lower extremities, which completely disrupts metabolic processes in tissues. As a result, diabetic patients often have numbness in their toes and sometimes all of their feet. In addition, due to insufficient blood circulation, the legs of diabetics can freeze even in warm weather.
Also, a deficiency of nutrients contributes to the gradual death of the nerve fibers of the lower extremities, which interferes with the normal conduction of nerve impulses to the brain.
Over time, this condition leads to partial or complete loss of sensitivity in the legs and significantly increases the risk of injury to the feet, therefore, foot care for diabetes mellitus is necessary.
Symptoms
Numbness in the legs with diabetes is not the only sign of poor circulation in the feet. Also, this complication is indicated by the presence of the following symptoms:
- Light and sometimes intense tingling in the legs;
- Feeling as if goosebumps were running down the feet;
- Painful sensations and burning sensations in the lower extremities;
- Severe swelling of the legs;
- Feeling of coldness or opposite heat in the legs;
- The development of varicose veins on the feet, which manifests itself in the strengthening of the venous pattern.
Most of all, the toes suffer from circulatory disorders, the vessels of which are most vulnerable to the destructive effect of high blood sugar. In the beginning, this syndrome manifests itself only after heavy physical activity, for example, playing sports or long walks.
At this moment, the patient notices that his toes become very numb, lose their usual sensitivity and become unusually cold.
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The same effect can be observed during a strong emotional experience or in cold weather, especially if the patient is wearing out-of-season light shoes. Also, numbness of the fingers can occur when bathing in cold or too hot water.
To cope with unpleasant sensations, patients, as a rule, begin to actively rub their toes with their hands. This helps to temporarily relieve the feeling of numbness in the legs and improve blood circulation, but this does not solve the problem itself.
If at this moment the patient does not seek help from a neuropathologist, then this complication will rapidly progress, affecting more and more of the foot. Among the latter, the heel will be affected, which will make it extremely vulnerable to trophic ulcers, where the treatment of trophic ulcers in diabetes mellitus can proceed with dangerous complications.
Lack of normal blood circulation will damage more and more nerve endings, which will ultimately lead to the following complications:
- Chronic sensory impairment in the legs;
- Violation of the motor activity of the legs, which can be expressed in a change in gait and even paralysis of the lower extremities;
- Severe dryness and peeling of the skin of the legs, the appearance of trophic ulcers on the plantar side of the feet, which can subsequently turn into dry gangrene (diabetic foot syndrome);
- In the most severe cases, leg amputation in diabetes mellitus.
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To avoid irreversible consequences, it is important to understand that numbness of the legs in diabetes is a very serious symptom that indicates the development of dangerous complications.
Therefore, its treatment should be started as early as possible, when it is still possible to restore blood supply and sensitivity in the legs.
Treatment
The mainstay of treatment for any complications of diabetes mellitus is tight control of blood sugar levels. In addition, adherence to a therapeutic diet and regular sports activities are of great importance in improving the patient’s condition.
For people with type 2 diabetes, it is also imperative to constantly take medications to lower glucose levels in the body. This will help improve the functioning of the heart and the entire cardiovascular system, lower blood pressure and increase metabolism.
Only after the patient manages to stabilize the blood sugar level can he begin to effectively treat the affected limbs. However, diabetic patients who are wondering what to do if their legs go numb should understand that this diabetic syndrome can be cured only with a complex impact on the problem.
Correct treatment of leg numbness must necessarily include both taking the necessary medications and undergoing special physiotherapy procedures.
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The complete treatment course is as follows:
- Complex of vitamins of group B. Especially thiamine (B1) and pyridoxine (B6), which effectively restore nerve fibers and restore sensitivity to the legs;
- A good anticonvulsant drug. It will not only help relieve muscle cramps, but also improve blood circulation in the lower extremities;
- Stimulating the nerve endings with physiotherapy treatments such as transcutaneous massage and balneological treatments that help restore the peripheral nervous system in the legs.
- Obligatory treatment of even small wounds and cracks in the feet using wound healing and bactericidal agents. The most popular among them are Furacillin’s solution and Miramistin. And for the treatment of bruises, it is very good to use a remedy such as a 0.5% solution of Dimexidum in novocaine. These drugs will help prevent infection of damaged skin, and therefore prevent the development of a diabetic foot.
- If the skin on the legs is healthy and does not have any damage, then therapeutic massage and water procedures will be very useful. They will help keep your feet healthy.
Folk recipes
Treatment with folk remedies can also be of great benefit for a patient diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, including relieving him of leg problems. However, it is important to understand that not every traditional method of treating numbness in the legs can be used for this serious illness.
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It should be noted that diabetics are not recommended to use products prepared on the basis of hot pepper, garlic and other burning plants, as they can provoke irritation on the patient’s sensitive skin and lead to the appearance of ulcers.
For the same reason, you should not soak your feet in herbal decoctions or use other recipes that provide thermal effects on the feet. Looking through the alternative methods of dealing with numbness in the legs, it is best to opt for the simplest and safest recipes.
Effective methods of traditional medicine:
Milk with honey and salt. This recipe will require:
- 2 p. milk;
- 1 l. water;
- 50 gr. natural honey;
- 60 gr. table salt.
Pour milk and water into an enamel saucepan. Add honey and salt to them and stir well until completely dissolved. Heat the mixture over a fire until warm, pleasant to the skin. Dip your feet into the solution and take such a foot bath for 10 minutes. This procedure is best done in the evening before bed.
Pumpkin porridge. To do this, the pumpkin must be opened and crushed or chopped in a blender to a mushy state. Put the prepared pumpkin mass while still warm in a small basin and lower the leg, which is numb, into it. Hold until the gruel cools. The remaining raw materials can not be thrown away, but reused for another procedure, with a little preheating. The video in this article will continue the topic of foot care.