According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 20 million people in the U.S. have some form of neuropathy. It mainly affects the extremities, and that includes your feet! People living with neuropathy experience burning, tingling, numbness, and pain in their legs or feet, daily. May is Neuropathy Awareness Month, so let’s explore everything you need to know in order to make the best health decisions possible.

WHAT IS NEUROPATHY

Neuropathy is a nerve condition affecting the arms, hands, legs, and feet. The most common form of peripheral neuropathy is due to diabetes. There is also Alcoholic neuropathy contracted from excessive exposure to alcoholic beverages. Ethanol, the alcoholic component of these beverages, is actually toxic to nerve tissue. Over time, the nerves in the feet and hands can become damaged, resulting in the same loss of sensation as in diabetic neuropathy.

SYMPTOMS OF NEUROPATHY

The most common symptoms you are likely to experience if you have neuropathy in the feet are numbness, tingling, stabbing or shooting pain, or burning. Your feet may also feel unusually cold, even in warm weather.

TREATMENT FOR NEUROPATHY

Treatment for peripheral neuropathy is, for the most part, directed at the symptoms of the condition. You should only use topical ointments with the advice of your doctor. Vitamin B12 injections may be helpful if the patient has a vitamin B deficiency. Certain oral medications may ease the burning pain prescribed by your doctor. Magnetic therapy and Galvanic Stimulation are alternative forms of treatment, but the results are varied and difficult to quantify.

You can count on the Foot & Ankle Specialists, PC foot doctors to provide care for your feet using a full range of conservative and surgical therapies. Our expert team, including board-certified podiatrists Dr. Scott E. Hughes, Dr. Greg P. Vogt, and Dr. Christine I. Tumele, serve patients of all ages with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies, including on-site digital x-ray, and ultrasound, diabetic shoes, and digital scanning for custom orthotics.

For any questions or to make an appointment, please contact us at one of our Southeast Michigan facilities in Monroe at 734-241-0200 and Lambertville at 734-856-8900 in Bedford and Monroe counties. Don’t forget we make house calls.