Neuropathy Of The Feet
What is neuropathy?
The word neuropathy is derived from 2 Greek words and it simply means pathology of the nerve, or the losing of your feelings in the nerves of your feet. Every year many patients who have diabetes develop neuropathy, and this may cause problems with their feet.
The symptoms of diabetic neuropathy are many, and among the most common is a feeling of numbness across the foot, and sometimes pain that comes and goes for no apparent reasons. In the patient with diabetes, the numbness starts with the toes and then proceeds toward the rest of the foot.
The Foot Doctor ( Podiatrist ) plays a vital role in dealing with this condition. The person with diabetes should be evaluated by the Foot Doctor who will perform a few simple tests on the patient to determine if the patient has neuropathy. The Foot Doctor then notifies the primary care doctor and then schedules the patient for quarterly visits for routine foot care.
The purpose of this is to examine the patient’s feet for any sores, and to careful cut the nails and trim any corn or calluses. The patient with neuropathy is unable to feel any sores, cuts, and may trim the nails to the point of bleeding. The patient cannot sense things as well as someone without neuropathy.
Patients with diabetes who develops neuropathy usually seeks out “cures” for this condition. The patient may seek over the counter remedies that may work. They may seek prescription medication to combat this problem or topical creams. One of the newer treatment option is the use of laser therapy but this is not yet a proven treatment plan.