Diabetic Neuropathy is damage to nerves caused by the prolonged effect of high sugar levels in the blood. High blood sugar is a consequence of having diabetes. Diabetics strive to manage their blood sugar levels by eating a healthy diet, exercising (and injecting insulin in some cases). It is believed that keeping blood sugar levels low or at least constant is the best way to manage diabetes and prevent further complications occurring. This article will outline the various types of neuropathy, why it is important to treat them and how they are treated.

Diabetic neuropathy can affect any nerve or system of nerves in the body and has be sub-classified by the parts of the body that they affect. The four types are :

Peripheral - that affects the extremities of the body, notably the feet.

Autonomic - that affects the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for the automatic processes that go on in the body. They manifest in the stomach generally.

Proximal - the areas affects are the hips, thighs and buttocks.

Focal - a focused group of nerves in any region of the body. This is characterized by sudden 'flare ups' of irritation or pain in a specific part of the body. They are as likely to 'flare down' or dissipate with treatment as they are to 'flare up'.

The most common form of neuropathy is peripheral neuropathy. It generally affects the feet but can move into the legs. It is also known to affect the hands and arms but is less common. The most obvious signs of peripheral neuropathy are numbness or tingling in the feet. As the nerves become more damaged the loss of feeling in the feet increases. This insensitivity is exacerbated because the feet of diabetics are prone to cuts and bruises. Without the sensation of pain that might accompany a cut the cut can be left untreated and fester. This can lead to gangrene and infection. In some cases people have had to have feet amputated.

This is why treatment and prevention are important for diabetic neuropathy.

Treatment of diabetic neuropathy is problematic because the symptoms can affect any part of the body. Therefore the treatment of neuropathy focuses on dealing with the immediate symptoms and then working on preventing the neuropathy from worsening.

The immediate symptoms may be any form of pain or irritation in the feet, for example. A pain killing medicine might be prescribed, a cream might be administered to the area most affected or a therapeutic course of action like acupuncture, might be followed.

In conjunction with this treatment of the immediate problem, a long term prevention strategy will be advised. Long term prevention means keeping the blood sugar level low or within a target range that is recommended by your doctor. The best way to do this would be to devise and stick to a diabetic diet, exercise regularly and take insulin replacement therapy to control the blood sugar levels before or after eating. This will require a fair amount of discipline from the diabetic but the complications of diabetic neuropathy will be far worse over time if allowed to worsen.

Learn more about diabetic diet plans at http://www.diabeticdietsplan.com . The site deals with diets and eating healthy foods. Find out the types of diabetic food you can eat and how they fit into the 2007 diabetic food pyramid . Adrian Whittle writes on issues related to diabetes including symptoms of diabetes, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic neuropathy.