Diabetes has turned out to be a common problem that is suffered by a lot of people these days. If you are a diabetic patient and have been experiencing burning, shooting, and pricking feels in your hands and feet, then it is the case of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, which is also called as diabetic nerve pain. It is mainly caused due to poor diabetes management and is a common problem among people suffering from diabetes.

Nerve pain is known to be a pain that is non-protective. It is caused due to damage to nerves due to injury or diabetes. The nerves send signals to the brain.

Symptoms
The usual symptoms of diabetic nerve pain include burning, shooting, numbness, feeling of pricking of needles or pins, feel of electric shock, tingling, throbbing, stabbing, stinging, sensitivity to touch and radiating. The patients could also experience urination problems, vaginal dryness among women and erectile dysfunction among men. Depression and weight loss are often combined with diabetic nerve pain.

Causes
Diabetic nerve pain is a complication relating to diabetes that has become common among people who have had diabetes for more than about 20 years. This problem is caused due to many factors mentioned below.

• Nerve inflammation due to an over-reactive immunity system
• Damage to the nerves due to trauma or medical complications like rheumatoid arthritis
• Inherited weakness to nerve damage
• Damage to the blood vessels, which supply oxygen and various other nutrients to the nervous system
• Factors like low insulin level, high blood pressure, high lipid levels etc.
• Lifestyle factors like smoking, excess alcohol consumption, obesity etc.

Types
There are mainly four types of diabetic nerve pain and the details of the same are mentioned below.

• Proximal neuropathy : In this type of complication, the nerves of hips, buttocks or thighs are affected and this leads to weakness in the legs.
• Peripheral neuropathy : This is a common type of nerve pain which causes numbness or pain in the feet, toes, fingers, legs, arms or hands.
• Autonomic neuropathy : This creates an impact on such nerves that are normally not under your control. It leads to an impact on the digestion, blood pressure, bowel, perspiration, sexual response and bladder control.
• Focal neuropathy : In this type of diabetic nerve pain, the damage is caused to some nerves that lead to weakness all of a sudden or leads to pain in a particular part of the body.

Diagnosis
Doctors usually analyze this problem through the symptoms experienced by the patients. They conduct a normal physical examination. Nerve conduction is undertaken for analyzing as to how quickly and how efficiently the nerves are able to carry on the electrical signals to different muscles. The electromyographic measure helps to know how receptive the muscles are for such nerve signals. If these indicate poor result, this it means diabetic nerve pain.

Doctors will also be able to analyze as to how the heart reacts to deep breathing and also the changes in posture and blood pressure. Ultrasound of the bladder will help to know as to how the bladder gets emptied after the urination.

Treatment
Doctors normally prescribe medicines for this problem to treat the nerve problems so that it does not lead to further complication. However, you can do your bit too. Any kind of further nerve damage can be easily prevented by controlling the blood sugar levels and bringing it to the normal range. Regular monitoring of the blood sugar levels is essential. Effective meal planning should be done and a strict diet plan should be followed.

Exercising is a must as it helps in blood circulation. Brisk walk for at least 40 minutes in a day is sure to provide with best results. Yoga is extremely helpful to treat this problem in an effective way. Weight control is essential for improving the overall health and to control this problem as well. Drinking a lot of water should be made a habit when there is high humidity or heat. The recommended medicines from the doctor should be strictly consumed to control the blood sugar levels and this needs to be maintained forever. Oral medications are usually suggested to reduce the nerve pain. There are many antidepressants that work in the best way for diabetic nerve pain. Some creams could also be suggested by the doctors to reduce the pain.

The diabetic patients should always know and control what they eat and should also concentrate on the fitness. They should maintain hygiene always and only then they will be able to keep themselves healthy and stay away from such diabetes-related complications.