Our feet work tirelessly, carrying us through our day-to-day lives. But beyond the occasional ache after standing for too long, subtle changes in your feet could be your body’s way of sending a signal about underlying health conditions. These signals can be from a little tingling or numbness in the feet to a bit of a burning sensation at night. When something is wrong internally, the feet are among the first to show signs.
Being aware of these minor foot ailments can help you detect more serious issues and avoid the adverse effects they can cause on your body.
Burning Sensation
Also known as diabetic neuropathy, this condition causes the patient to feel a burning sensation in their feet. This causes the most discomfort at night, disrupting sleep as well as the quality of life. A burning sensation can also be caused by a vitamin B deficiency, poor circulation in the legs and feet (peripheral arterial disease), athlete’s foot, chronic kidney disease, or hypothyroidism.
Persistent Tingling or Numbness
A constant tingling sensation or numbness one feels in the feet is one of the early symptoms of diabetes. This could indicate nerve damage in the body, often caused by diabetes. This happens if the blood sugar levels are found to be high constantly. People might not even feel a cut or blister, which can be dangerous. Sometimes, alcohol-related nerve issues or vitamin deficiencies, especially B12, might also show up this way.
Cold feet
If your toes feel cold even in warm weather, the reason could be poor blood circulation. When blood doesn’t flow well, like in peripheral artery disease (PAD), the feet start losing warmth. This circulatory problem is sometimes linked to high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease. A thyroid issue might also lead to cold feet, especially if it’s hypothyroidism.
Itchy feet
Occasional itchiness could be due to dryness of the skin or a fungal infection. But if the itching keeps returning, especially with redness or cracked skin, it may indicate athlete’s foot, a common fungal infection. If the skin on itchy feet is thick and pimple-like, chronic skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis may also first show up in the feet. To cure this, medicated creams can be used, as they help relieve the symptoms. It is worth noting that people with diabetes are more prone to such infections because high sugar levels weaken the immune response.
