Thanks to lifestyle vices, diabetes has reached epidemic proportion in many countries. Severe and deadly as it is, diabetes gives rise to a number of even deadlier complications. Diabetic neuropathy, one such complication, is capable of turning the patient into a vegetable, and even causing a fatality. This disease attacks the nervous system, effectively deactivating the patient's ability to sense and respond to his surrounding, and, more importantly, to control his body's functioning.



Awareness is the prime weapon against any disease. So let it be with diabetic neuropathy! Here, we shall provide the most crucial informational facts about diabetic neuropathy, its symptoms, and its prophylaxis to help you to prevent getting it, or to mitigate it if you already suffer from it.

The autonomic nervous system is at the very core of our existence. It controls the vital life functions like heartbeat and respiration. The autonomic nervous system fails, the patient dies, that's it. The peripheral nervous system controls the sensory and motor functions. This helps us to become aware of our environment and to control muscular activity. The peripheral nervous system fails, the patient becomes a vegetable. Diabetic neuropathy is categorized as autonomic and peripheral diabetic neuropathy, depending on which particular nervous system it affects. The third category, focal diabetic neuropathy, affects individual nerves, not a system.

The chief symptoms of nerve damage due to diabetic neuropathy are listed here:

Lack of control over body temperature, with the patient experiencing extreme temperature swings.

The patient faces uncontrollable urges to urinate suddenly. The same effect may apply to bowel movement but to a lesser extent.

Severe indigestion symptomized by flatulence, eructations, regurgitation, and vomiting.

The patient suffers from sexual disorders which prevent sexual functionality.

Erratic heartbeat, poor blood circulation, and heart seizures.

The damage to the nervous system impairs the patient's sensory capacity. This is a dangerous development, as the patient is unaware of harmful situations which can cause physical injury. For example, if the patient loses sensation in his feet, he may step on a hot object and not feel the heat, and thus sustain burn injuries to his foot.

The patient can get himself treated for diabetic neuropathy. The fact is that diabetic neuropathy can't be cured of itself unless the underlying cause, the elevated blood glucose level, is removed. However it is worth the patient's while to get the major symptoms of diabetic neuropathy treated, which is possible, albeit to an extent, in a number of ways.

The main mode of treatment lies in vigilant monitoring of blood glucose to make sure it remains within the prescribed norms. This controls and reduces the underlying cause of diabetic neuropathy. Drug therapy is an important method of treating diabetic neuropathy. Medications include pain relievers when the damaged nerves generate erratic pain signals, blood thinners to help restore the blood chemistry to its normal state, and creams and lubricants to restore sexual functionality. Diabetic neuropathy is a severe disorder and can be fatal if left untreated, or if it is mistreated. Therefore, a patient of diabetic neuropathy must always follow the doctor's orders, and avoid self-prescription. The risk of fatality should be uppermost in the patient's mind, and this should prompt him to do everything under proper medical supervision.