If You Have These 9 Symptoms in Your Feet, Don’t Ignore Them
Foot symptoms can sometimes provide clues about nerve damage, circulation problems, diabetes, or infection. But these symptoms are not specific to one disease, so they shouldn’t be used to self-diagnose.
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Nine symptoms worth paying attention to are:
Tingling or “pins and needles”
Burning or unusual warmth
Numbness or reduced sensation
Sharp, shooting, or electric-like pain
Unusual sensitivity to touch
Muscle weakness or difficulty walking
Loss of ability to feel heat, cold, or pain
Swelling, redness, or changes in skin color or temperature
Cuts, blisters, or sores that don’t heal normally
Burning, tingling, numbness, pain, and loss of sensation—particularly when they begin in the feet—can occur with peripheral neuropathy. Diabetes is a major cause, but vitamin deficiencies, certain medications, alcohol use, kidney disease, infections, and other conditions can also damage peripheral nerves.
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When to get medical attention
If you have diabetes, check your feet regularly for cuts, redness, swelling, blisters, or sores because reduced sensation can allow injuries to go unnoticed.
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A new or worsening foot wound, spreading redness, pus, significant swelling, or severe pain should be evaluated promptly. Don’t assume that every foot symptom is caused by diabetes or neuropathy.
If these symptoms are persistent or affecting both feet, a clinician can investigate possible causes with an examination and, when appropriate, blood tests such as glucose and vitamin B12 testing.
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