Diabetes mellitus is a disease, against the background of a long course of which, especially if the patient does not receive adequate treatment, complications from various organs and systems develop. So, often in diabetes mellitus affects the nervous system, and one of the most common and, at the same time, dangerous diseases is diabetic neuropathy.
With diabetic neuropathy, nervous fibers are affected as a somatic part of the nervous system, through which the person consciously controls the muscles of the body, and the autonomic part, which involuntarily regulates all internal processes of the body. The disease occurs due to the violation of metabolic processes in diabetes mellitus - mainly, this is due to the chronically elevated level of glucose in the blood.
In this case, edema of the nervous tissue is observed, all metabolic processes in the nerve fibers are disrupted, which causes the conduction of nerve impulses to deteriorate. Also, due to pathological processes, the antioxidant system is inhibited, and accumulating free radicals begin to destroy nerve cells, and when autoimmune complexes are included in the mechanism, complete atrophy of nerve fibers is possible.
Symptoms and types of diabetic neuropathy
This disease is classified according to several criteria, but, mainly, the localization of lesions of nerve fibers is taken into account. Consider the main types of diabetic neuropathy and their clinical manifestations:
1. Peripheral diabetic neuropathy - the nerve fibers of the limbs are affected (the lower extremities suffer more often) with the appearance of such symptoms:
- sensation of burning, "crawling crawling," tenderness in the limbs;
- numbness of limbs ;
- sensation of sudden cold or heat in hands, feet;
- deformation of the muscles of the limbs;
- increased sensitivity to touch;
- propensity to form long-healing wounds, ulcers.
2. Autonomic diabetic neuropathy - the vegetative nervous system is affected with disruption of many internal organs - the stomach, heart, intestines, urogenital organs, etc., which can have the following manifestations:
- stool disorders;
- nausea;
- rapid, rare or involuntary urination;
- cardiopalmus;
- dizziness;
- syncope, etc.
3. Proximal diabetic neuropathy - characterized by intense pain in the thighs, buttocks and hip joints, leads to weakness of the leg muscles, loss of stability when walking.
4. Focal diabetic neuropathy - usually occurs suddenly, affecting the nerve fibers of the extremities or trunk, manifested by muscle weakness and pain sensations.
5. Diabetic distal neuropathy - characterized by a significant symmetrical lesion of the lower extremities with a decrease in their sensitivity (pain, temperature).
How to cure diabetic neuropathy?
Effective treatment of diabetic neuropathy is impossible without achieving the compensation of diabetes, which is achieved by diet, insulin, sugar-reducing drugs, etc. Complex treatment of the disease may include the use of the following drugs:
- neurotropic vitamins;
- antioxidants;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- antidepressants;
- anticolvulsants, etc.
For the treatment of autonomous forms of pathology, drugs are used depending on the developed syndrome. A good result is given by physiotherapeutic methods of treatment:
- magnetotherapy ;
- laser therapy;
- electrostimulation, etc.
Also used massage, exercise therapy.
Treatment of diabetic neuropathy with folk remedies
Any folk remedies for diabetic neuropathy can be used only as an addition to the basic treatment and necessarily with the permission of the doctor. The main non-traditional methods of treatment of this pathology include:
- compresses made of blue clay;
- rubbing with camphor oil;
- the use of water infusions of calendula, nettle, chamomile;
- reception of tincture of Eleutherococcus.