High blood glucose level for 10 years or more is known to cause the severe nerve damage. This situation is known as neuropathy. This shows the immense power of the terrible disease.

Speed at which the nerve impulses travel down the nerve fiber is called nerve conduction velocity (NCV). The NCV is severely slowed down in diabetics with nerve damage but may not show any symptoms. To diagnose the neuropathy, the NCV of the patient is found out, which diagnoses neuropathy in those patients who are yet to show any symptoms. If diagnosed, situation can be improved by supplying medication.

Long nerve fibers, which do exist in taller people, are prone to damage more than the smaller ones, which means taller individuals are at greater risk. People over the age of 40 also endure the disease more often than the others. A minute quantity of alcohol is enough to make the neuropathy situation to worsen and become complex.

How a doctor can test the functions of your nerves?

Diabetic neuropathy can be diagnosed through different ways by a doctor. Analysis of the connections between sensations such as touch, temperature, vibration, and light and your nerves, which are thought to be different for each sensation, is made.

Testing using vibration: Larger nerve fibers damages and abnormalities can be tested by the doctor, using vibration testing. This can be done by using a tuning fork.

Testing using temperature: Sensation of boiling water and extremely hot temperatures is lost if small nerve fibers are damaged. So, knowing the status of the small nerve fibers is extremely important. Thus temperature testing becomes of immense importance as it determines the status of the small nerve fibers.

Testing using light touch: When we experience touches on the skin, large nerve fibers are responsible for sending nerve impulses to the brain. A filament tool of even 1 gram will cause a normal person to feel sensation of touch. So, to determine which nerve fibers are damaged, if any, light touch method is employed by the doctors.

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