I always felt numb in my legs, I didn't feel any temperature or pain, and when I soaked my feet a few days ago, I didn't feel anything even if the water was very hot, and I accidentally burned my feet. 56-year-old Lao He is currently hospitalized, and through examination, doctors found that his fasting blood sugar was as high as 15mmol/L, and as for postprandial blood sugar, it was even higher.
The doctor said that the main culprit that caused Lao He's leg numbness was diabetic peripheral neuropathy. In the eyes of many people, diabetes should have typical "three more and one less" symptoms, more drinking, more eating and more urine and weight loss, in fact, it is not necessarily, many diabetic patients do not actually have typical symptoms, just complications appear, only then do they find out that they have diabetes.
This is very scary, because it is difficult to detect diabetes in time without the habit of regular medical check-ups.
As a doctor, I would like to remind everyone that the legs are a mirror of complications, and the 3 manifestations on the legs of diabetics indicate that the condition is aggravating!
First, if there is an unexplained wound in both legs that does not heal, you must be highly vigilant for diabetes
Many people have wounds on their legs or feet, no matter what, they can't heal, even if it's a small wound, it may turn into a very large and deep wound, and in such a situation, we must be vigilant against diabetes.
Diabetes will lead to a decrease in immunity, after the immunity is reduced, bacteria are more likely to adhere to the surface of the skin, under the action of bacteria, how can the wound heal?
Diabetic foot is a very serious complication of diabetes and can even be at risk of amputation over time if not treated in a timely manner.
This reminds me of ten years ago, when I was a resident doctor, I once managed a 75-year-old elderly female diabetic foot patient, and surprisingly, this patient was still reluctant to go to the hospital even though he had obvious gangrene in his foot, and it dragged on for a long time, and when he finally arrived at the hospital, the gangrene had extended to the leg, and there was no way to treat it conservatively, so he had to amputate his leg.
That was the first time I had seen the horror of diabetes, and when I met a diabetic patient in the future, I would advise them to take good care of their legs and feet, and to have a good check-up every day to see if there were any abnormal wounds.
Second, if there is unexplained numbness in the legs, you must be highly vigilant for diabetes
When numbness occurs in both legs, many people's first reaction is, am I having a stroke?
Generally, the numbness caused by stroke is numbness of one limb, and if numbness occurs in both legs, and it is symmetrical, it is necessary to be alert to diabetic peripheral nerve complications at this time.
The main pathogenesis of diabetic peripheral nerve complications is metabolic abnormalities and microangiopathies caused by hyperglycemia. Presents as a symmetrical multiple peripheral neuropathy of the distal extremities, with insidious onset and first involving the distal lower extremities, progressing from the bottom up and rarely affecting the upper extremities.
In addition to numbness, diabetic peripheral neuropathy can also lead to a feeling of overstocking in both lower limbs, and some patients will also feel that ants are walking on both legs and feet, forming a characteristic ant walking feeling.
Thirdly, if you have unexplained pigmentation in your legs, you should be alert to diabetes
Long-term poor blood sugar control also has great damage to the skin, diabetes will cause bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms to invade the skin more easily, poor blood sugar control will lead to osmotic diuresis, causing dehydration of the body, and will also cause skin abnormalities.
Sugar spots, also called diabetic skin spots, are mainly characterized by irregular brown, brown or black patches on the front of the lower legs; The early plaques are small, round or oval in shape, with well-defined borders or a dark red rash, and later they become larger and darker in color, developing to about one centimeter in diameter.
The main reason for the formation of sugar plaques is that persistent hyperglycemia leads to skin capillary lesions, which leads to impaired blood circulation, which in turn causes insufficient blood supply to skin cells and malnutrition, resulting in plaque formation.
Therefore, when these abnormal skin lesions are found, it is suggested that you should go to the hospital early.