What does peripheral neuropathy mean in people with diabetes?

Nerve damage can alter feeling, temperature awareness, balance, and the way muscles work. Some people notice pins and needles or pain; others have reduced sensation without discomfort. Reduced feeling can make a blister, cut, burn, or pressure area harder to notice. The condition may affect both sides and often begins in the toes before moving upward. Symptoms do not prove that diabetes is the only cause, so a clinician may consider other explanations.

Check your feet every day, including between the toes, for breaks in the skin, redness, swelling, blisters, or colour change. Wash and dry them carefully, moisturise dry skin without applying cream between the toes, and wear well-fitting footwear. Avoid walking barefoot and do not use heating pads on numb areas. Keep diabetes appointments and take prescribed treatment as directed. A clinician can assess sensation, circulation, footwear, and pain-control options.

Contact a clinician promptly for a foot wound, spreading redness, warmth, swelling, discharge, new black or pale skin, or fever. Seek urgent help for sudden weakness, rapidly spreading numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or severe pain with a cold or discoloured foot. Do not wait for pain if sensation is reduced and the skin looks damaged.

How much sensation and circulation do I have in each foot? Could another condition be adding to my symptoms? What should I use for nerve pain? How often should my feet be examined?