Medical professionals have highlighted a less well-known diabetes symptom that may affect your feet.
The NHS explains that peripheral neuropathy occurs when nerves in the body’s extremities become damaged – with diabetes being the leading cause. Therefore, if you’re noticing numbness in your feet – or hands, arms, or legs – it might be an indicator of diabetes. Neuropathy can also result from other medical conditions and particular medications.
Sometimes, no cause can be determined and this is referred to as idiopathic neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy resulting from either type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes is known as diabetic polyneuropathy. It’s likely caused by elevated blood sugar levels damaging the small blood vessels that nourish your nerves, the NHS explains.
Beyond diabetes, there are numerous other potential causes of peripheral neuropathy. Additional causes include prolonged excessive alcohol consumption; insufficient levels of vitamin B12 or other vitamins, and physical nerve damage, such as from an injury or surgical procedure.
Article continues below
Suffering from an underactive thyroid gland can also increase your risk of nerve damage, as can chronic liver or kidney disease, along with certain infections including shingles, Lyme disease, diphtheria, botulism and HIV. Additional contributing factors include certain cancers, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and other forms of hereditary motor sensory neuropathy, genetic conditions that cause nerve damage particularly in the feet, abnormal proteins in the bloodstream, elevated toxin levels in the body, and Guillain-Barré syndrome – a rare condition that causes rapid onset of paralysis within days.
The most prevalent symptoms of diabetes include persistent thirst, more frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, and extreme fatigue.