Numbness in hands and feet: Beware of diabetes complications

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi My - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International Hospital.

Numbness in the limbs is a warning sign of peripheral neuropathy in diabetics. It is important to control blood sugar and treat signs as soon as possible to prevent more serious consequences.

The high blood sugar index causes damage to the microvessels, leading to a lack of nutrients for the nerves, causing the nerves to become numb. People with diabetes often feel numbness in the tips of their toes, especially when lying down, and feel better with exercise.
According to the Director of Diabetes Center - Montefiore Medical Center - Dr. Zonszein, the longest nerves in the body will be affected by diabetes, these nerves go from the spine to the vertebrae. toes. So the feet are often numb first, then the arms and hands.
In addition, in the nervous system myelin sheath will have a role to protect the axons. In people with diabetes, the myelin sheaths will be damaged, gradually reducing the protective function of the axon, causing the patient to experience pain and numbness.
Warning signs of numbness in the limbs in people with diabetes include: Dry, itchy, flaky skin, feeling cold, easy bruising of the limbs, numbness in the toes and fingers and then spreads to the whole body. feet, hands... These signs are often mistaken for signs of old age, so it's easy for sick people to ignore. This long-term condition will cause the nerve axons to become more and more damaged. Symptoms will gradually increase in severity such as: Tingling, pain like needles, burning, cramps, numbness like ants crawling in the limbs... These symptoms often appear at night, causing the patient to lose consciousness. sleep, fatigue, greatly affect health and work.
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is the most common. Up to 70% of people with diabetes have this complication, especially those with long-standing diabetes.

Numbness in the limbs in diabetics is not only an uncomfortable complication, but it can also lead to dangerous consequences such as: Loss of sensation in the hands and feet. Typical manifestations are touching a hot object but no burning sensation, being cut by a sharp object but feeling no pain. Diabetes causes reduced blood flow to the extremities. Wounds on hands and feet can become infected or necrotic. Many people without timely intervention have had to amputate fingers, toes, even hands and feet, remove knee joints, more seriously, become disabled for life.
In case a person with diabetes has to have a limb amputated, the wound is very difficult to heal, even necrosis may occur, requiring deeper amputation, higher joint removal. Therefore, to ensure the health of diabetics, when seeing signs of numbness in the limbs or any other unusual problems, it is necessary to go to the hospital for examination to conduct treatment immediately. There is a need for early prevention of neurological and vascular complications in patients with diabetes.

3.1. Control of blood sugar Numbness in the limbs is a peripheral neuropathy complication of diabetes, so to reduce this condition, it is necessary to control blood sugar at a stable level. Patients must take diabetes medication exactly as prescribed by the doctor, follow a strict diet, exercise regularly to maintain health and weight.
If the patient is overweight, obese needs to lose weight to improve the symptoms of the disease. Patients should eat a lot of green vegetables, fruits, whole grains. Especially do not drink alcohol and smoke.
3.2. Take care of yourself When experiencing numbness in the limbs, the patient should soak their hands and feet and wash their hands and feet with warm water daily, then dry them thoroughly and apply moisturizer. Always wear shoes and sandals to prevent injuries and scratches on the skin.
Regularly check limbs to promptly detect wounds, ulcers and have timely intervention methods, avoid infection, gangrene In case you want to know how much blood sugar is, diabetes status At any level, customers can register for a diabetes screening package, dyslipidemia at Vinmec International General Hospital. Not only health screening, the diabetes and dyslipidemia screening package also helps to detect pre-diabetes early, accurately classify diabetes type, develop a nutritional regimen, and monitor the treatment of diabetes. risks and complications caused by diabetes.
Using the screening package for diabetes and dyslipidemia at Vinmec, customers will receive:
Endocrine CK examination (with appointment) Total urinalysis (by automatic machine) Quantitative Glucose Quantitative HbA1c Quantitative Uric Acid Quantification of Cholesterol Determination of HDL-C (High density lipoprotein Cholesterol) Determination of LDL-C (Low density lipoprotein Cholesterol) Determination of Triglycerides Determination of Urea Determination of Creatinine Measurement of AST Activity (GOT) Measurement of ALT Activity (GPT) Measurement of GGT activity (Gama glutamyl Transferase) Quantification of MAU (Micro Albumin Arine) Echocardiography, transthoracic pericardium, Normal ECG, Carotid Doppler ultrasound, Transcranial Doppler (carotid) Arterial Doppler ultrasound, veins of the lower extremities (bilateral lower extremity arteries)