Category:  7 Silent Signs

 7 Silent Signs For diabetic people, having high levels of blood sugar is often not about a spike and an emergency room visit. The most dangerous consequences are often quite subtle and far from the heart, they occur at the ends of the legs. The effect of the elevated blood sugar level in the body resembles slowly moving cars inside your blood vessels. They destroy microscopic vessels, numb the nerve endings and put your healing system to sleep. A small cut, which could normally heal within three days can lead to months of treatment without you noticing it. The thing is that diabetic neuropathy (damage to nerves) blocks your ability to feel pain. This means that you can not use “being in pain” as a way to realize that something is going on. Visit the best foot and ankle doctor in Gujarat.

7 following subtle signs will help you to understand it

1. The “Ghost Scratch” That Won’t Go Away – Have you ever seen a little red spot on your skin, a tiny scratch from your pet, or an indent from where your shoes were too tight, and found yourself looking at the exact same mark after three weeks have passed? Your skin is alive – it’s constantly renewing itself. In cases where there are high levels of blood sugar in your body, the skin is unable to receive the growth factors needed to heal the wound. 
   2. Feet That Always Feel Very Cold – If your feet feel as if they are made of ice despite being covered by a warm blanket, chances are that this problem isn’t something that you can blame on your quirky habits. The permanently high levels of glucose cause the walls of your peripheral arteries to thicken, which makes it harder for oxygen-filled blood to reach your extremities. Without sufficient amounts of blood, your tissues are unable to maintain their warmth—and much more important—they cannot receive the amount of oxygen necessary to repair the damage on the cellular level. 

3. Skin That Flakes and Cracks Similar to a Desert Floor – High blood sugar levels cause a natural diuretic effect on your body and make it lose its moisture. Also, damaged nerves cease to communicate with your sweat and oil glands in your feet. As a result, your heels and soles dry up and crack and create an open gateway for bacteria into your system. 

4. Puffiness in One Foot or Ankle without Any Noticeable Injury – When one of your feet or ankles is swollen, feels doughy, and creates an indentation when you apply pressure with your finger, your body is trying to tell you something important. When your body fails to heal itself, the tissue gets swelled up with excess fluid because of the poor inflammation response of the body. This is especially dangerous for healing because the fluid increases the pressure and hampers the blood supply even further. 

5. Change in Skin Color – The healthy skin of your body is normally pink due to the blood supply. Take a close look at your feet and see whether their color changes when you raise your legs. Does it become pale or does it have a dusky, blue or red tinge when you sit in a chair? This change of color happens due to the accumulation of blood in your feet because of poor circulation of blood from your feet back to your heart. 

6. “Like Walking In Socks” Sensation (If You Go Barefoot) – It does not need to be stabbing pain. More often than not, neuropathy is associated with dulled senses. When going barefoot around the wooden floor makes you feel like wearing padded socks, you are probably under attack from the high glucose level which attacks your sensory nerves. And in that case, there is a real physical threat, since you can easily have something lodged in your foot for several days and not even know about it – a splinter, a blister, or a small nail that causes the infection.

7. Discharge that Stains Your Socks – This one is possibly the most important sign you cannot ignore. You may not feel anything, but after taking off your socks in the evening, you can see small yellow or colored stains in the toes area or in the heel. This means that something goes wrong and the skin is breaking, causing the drainage. 

The Biological “Why”: How Glucose Halts Repair 

If the sugar level in the blood is elevated, glucose binds to proteins and fats to form permanent bonds through glycation, producing AGEs, or advanced glycation end-products. These AGEs make your skin and blood vessels rigid by causing stiffness in the collagen. In addition, the blood that contains glucose slows down the movement of the white blood cells. 

The Four-Step Strategy for Foot Protection 

If you see any of the warning signs described above, there is no need to panic, but rather act wisely and carefully. 

• Step One – The Mirror Test: Decide that every evening you will conduct a full foot examination. If you are unable to bend to look at your feet properly, place a large mirror on the floor and hold your feet over it to examine their soles, heels, and spaces between your toes. 
• Step Two – Moisturize, But Subtract the Spaces Between Toes: Apply a good moisturizer to the heels and top of your feet every day to prevent cracking, but never apply it between your toes as this space should always be dry and free from bacteria. 
• Step Three – Shake Out Your Shoes: Before wearing any pair of shoes, turn it upside down and shake it thoroughly. The smallest stone or folded insole can result in a serious ulcer during an 8-hour working day when you have lost your ability to feel pain. 
• Step Four – Partner With a Podiatrist: Never try bathroom surgery with corns, calluses, and ingrown toenails; this task should be conducted by specialists who use sterile and safe instruments. 

Conclusion 

The condition of your feet will usually be indicative of your blood sugar levels far in advance of any physical discomfort that you might be experiencing. Due to the effects of neuropathy, there may be no natural signals of an injury for you to notice, and it is therefore necessary for you to be on the lookout for any unusual conditions such as dry skin, discoloration, slow-healing scrapes, and cold skin. You must visit the best diabetic foot doctor in Gujarat.