If you are diabetic, you need to worry about a lot more things like heart diseases and leg swelling. This causes peripheral edema in some cases and can be painful. If you see symptoms of swelling in your ankles, lower legs or feet, it is time to pay your physician an emergency visit.
Diabetes expands blood circulation in an inappropriate way, which can cause swelling in the lower leg region. However, there could be other reasons as well that would cause the swelling. So a visit to the doctor is a must. Diabetes is a serious disease which gives rise to many further complications; swelling in the legs is one of them. Let’s discuss a few reasons that could be contributing to the swelling and their cures.
What Could Be Causing Leg Swelling?
For any diabetic patient, it is a must to consult a doctor in case you notice any changes in the body. A patient who’s been living with diabetes for several years needs to be extra careful because this disease comes with so many attached risks.
If you are diabetic and have noticed some leg swelling recently, the following could be a few reasons for it.
- The main reason for leg swelling in diabetes is peripheral edema. Fluids collect in the feet, ankles and leg and this condition can become quite severe if left untreated. A consultation with a doctor is a must.
- Sometimes, a diabetic may suffer from diabetic neuropathy. This is a condition that leads to numbness in legs and feet. As a result, the diabetic may not be able to feel an injury, maybe something even as severe as a sprain or a fracture and continue to use the limb. But the swelling caused by the injury is what will raise concern, which is why a consultation with the doctor becomes very important.
- Diabetics have low immunity towards infections and your swelling could very well be a sign of an infection in the leg. Further signs that you may have an infection can be a mild fever and redness along with the swelling.
- Sometimes a high blood pressure can also result in leg swelling as fluids begin to build up within the tissues of the body. These are symptoms of a congestive heart failure and if you also feel like you have trouble breathing and are fatigued, you should rush to the nearest hospital.
- While most of us know about Diabetes Type 1 and Type 2, very few people are aware of the risks of gestational diabetes. This is a unique kind of diabetes that only affects pregnant women and usually disappears once the woman gives birth to the baby. Swelling in the legs is often associated with gestational diabetes, though the pregnancy itself can contribute largely to the collected fluids in the legs, causing a swelling.
- If you have Diabetes Type 2 and have been prescribed Thiazolidinediones, they can be the reason for your leg swelling. Talk to your physician if your leg swelling is severe and maybe he can change your prescription to give you relief from the swellings. (inspiration:healthviva.com)
Are you a Diabetic and prone to Leg-Swelling?