The foot is one of the four major organs that get affected by Diabetes. Our Foot Clinic is fully equipped with facilities for early detection and diagnosis of diabetic foot complications.
Foot Examination
A routine foot examination is done to check for early symptoms of Neuropathy (a condition where the nerves get affected), Ischemia (reduced blood supply), deformities in the foot, callus formations resulting from neuropathy, and check for infection and necrosis is done at the foot clinic.
Biothesiometer helps to detect and quantify the early sensory loss in diabetic patients.
Doppler helps in the detection of decreased blood circulation (Ischaemia).
Major amputations are often prevented by timely chiropody. Two trained chiropodists are available at our center for treatment of calluses, corns, and ulcers in Diabetic foot. Pedicure services like nail trimming and Chiropody are done at a very reasonable rate at the Foot Clinic proper instructions are also provided to the patients regarding the usage of suitable footwear and insoles thereby preventing recurrence of callus or corns in the diabetic foot.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in diabetics. Coronary disease is a known cardiovascular disorder and diabetics are 2 to 4 times more likely to fall prey to it than non-diabetics. Increased plaque deposition on the walls of large coronary arteries that restrict blood supply to the heart muscle is a major cause. Effects on smaller blood vessels or microvasculature such as abnormalities arise due to autonomic neuropathy, thickening of capillaries interfering with transport and exchange functioning, changes due to hyperglycemia.
Heart failure is another complication of cardiovascular disease where the heart’s efficiency in pumping blood is decreased and as a result, fluid gets deposited in extremities.
Damage to the nerves that occurs due to diabetes is called ‘diabetic neuropathy’. Any nerve can get affected due to high blood sugar in diabetes. One may experience variable symptoms ranging from loss of sensation and pain in extremities like legs or feet to problems with digestion, urinary system, heart, and blood vessels.
Nerve damage or diabetic neuropathy is a common phenomenon among diabetics, affecting approximately 60-70% of them. People with diabetes can develop nerve damage over time, due to factors such as restricted blood supply or harmful effects of high blood sugar on the nerves and nerve endings. The longer the duration of diabetes and poorer the blood sugar control, the more likely is the development of diabetic neuropathy.
Common symptoms include numbness, burning, tingling, or deep pain in the toes and feet, which eventually extend to upper arms, hands, and fingers.
The term ‘Nephropathy’ means kidney damage or disease. If it is caused due to diabetes, it is termed as diabetic nephropathy. Each human kidney has about a million nephrons that filter waste from the blood. Each nephron consists of a filtering unit called ‘glomerulus’ which is damaged because of diabetes. This damage leads to leakage of proteins such as albumin into the urine, which is a typical first sign of diabetic nephropathy. As the disease progresses, kidney functionality reduces gradually, finally resulting in kidney failure.
In diabetics with poor glycemic control, chronically elevated blood sugar levels cause thickening and scarring of the nephrons and gradually decrease the kidney’s efficiency to filter the waste from the blood. Over time, with poorly controlled diabetes, kidney functionality gets totally impaired resulting in kidney failure. Overall, diabetics have a 17 times greater probability of developing kidney disease as opposed to non-diabetics.
Typical symptoms include the following:
Eye damage caused due to diabetes is called diabetic retinopathy. This involves injury to the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye responsible for vision. Due to diabetes, abnormalities occur in the tiny vessels nourishing the retina at the back of the eye. It commonly affects both the eyes and leads to loss of vision, if left untreated.
Let’s learn more about diabetic retinopathy, its causes, and its consequences. The symptoms include
Prashanth Hospitals boasts of being the only clinic that has high end and expert services for treating gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy. Like other types of diabetes, gestational diabetes affects how your cells use sugar (glucose). It causes high blood sugar that can affect pregnancy and the baby’s health. Any complication during pregnancy is concerning but expectant women can help control gestational diabetes by eating healthy food, exercising, and if necessary, taking medication. Controlling blood sugar can prevent a difficult birth and keep both mom and baby healthy.
Causes
Treatment