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Foot pain? You may have diabetes

#NaplesFL #EsteroFL #CapeCoralFL #PortCharlotte– Do you ever feel burning, tingling or numbness in your feet and toes? A Naples, FL foot and ankle surgeon warns against ignoring those symptoms. They could be a warning sign of diabetes.

Dr. Kevin Lam, DPM, FACFAS, DABLES, DABPS, says those symptoms may be caused by a condition called diabetic peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage. Neuropathy in the feet can lead to permanent numbness, deformities such as bunions and hammertoes, and dry skin that cracks open and won’t heal.

“Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is not only painful but dangerous,” says Dr. Lam, a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons with offices in Naples, Cape Coral, Estero, North Naples, and East Naples. “It’s a leading contributor to foot ulcers in people with diabetes.”

Burning, tingling and numbness in toes can also be symptoms of thyroid problems, nutritional deficiencies, back problems and pinched nerves in the ankles. In the United States, diabetes is the leading cause of peripheral neuropathy and can lead to further foot complications.

Diabetic Neuropathy

Out of the 23 million Americans with diabetes, one in four has not been diagnosed. Some people learn they have diabetes only after seeing a doctor for burning, tingling and numbness in their toes and feet. Many people already diagnosed with diabetes are not familiar with neuropathy’s symptoms. According to FootHealthFacts.org, even diabetic patients who have excellent blood sugar control can develop diabetic neuropathy.

Medications can treat pain caused by neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy treatment varies depending on its cause. Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency is a well-known cause of peripheral neuropathy. Reversing thiamine deficiency is a well-known and often highly successful way to nutritionally manage peripheral neuropathy. NeuRx, a

NeuRx is physician formulated and has been used in my practice for diabetic neuropathy as well as other polyneuropathies and post nerve surgery patients.

physician-formulated natural neuropathy supplement has been helping patients with diabetic neuropathy as well as other polyneuropathies and post nerve surgery patients.

“When you have diabetes, especially diabetic neuropathy, a minor cut on your foot can turn into a catastrophe,” says Dr. Lam. “The statistics on diabetic ulcers are sobering.”

Twenty percent of diabetes patients who develop ulcers will require an amputation. Patients who are black, Hispanic and Native American are twice as likely as whites to need a diabetes-related amputation. Half of all people with diabetes who have a toe or foot amputation die within three years. The annual cost for diabetic ulcer care in the U.S. is estimated at $5 billion.

For more information on foot problems such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, contact Dr. Lam’s office at (239) 430 3668 or visit NaplesPodiatrist.com

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