Effects of Poor Blood Circulation

DISEASES CAUSED BY POOR BLOOD CIRCULATION AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO POTENTIALLY ALLEVIATE THE DISCOMFORT

Definition

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Raynaud's (ray-NOHZ) disease causes some areas of your body — such as your fingers and toes — to feel numb and cold in response to cold temperatures or stress. In Raynaud's disease, smaller arteries that supply blood to your skin narrow, limiting blood circulation to affected areas (vasospasm).

Women are more likely than men to have Raynaud's disease, also known as Raynaud or Raynaud's phenomenon or syndrome. It appears to be more common in people who live in colder climates.

Treatment of Raynaud's disease depends on its severity and whether you have other health conditions. For most people, Raynaud's disease isn't disabling, but can affect quality of life

Understanding Diabetic Nerve Pain & Symptoms

Diabetes can cause nerve damage often resulting in pain

Did you know that the pain in your feet and hands could be related to your diabetes? It starts with uncontrolled blood sugar. People with diabetes have high blood sugar levels. And over time this may cause permanent damage to the nerves. This nerve damage may cause a distinct pain called diabetic nerve pain.

Your doctor may have mentioned the term neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy. Neuropathy is nerve damage that often results in pain. Peripheral neuropathy is neuropathy that occurs in the extremities and may cause pain, such as foot pain or hand pain. The most common cause of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is diabetes-related nerve damage most commonly felt in the feet and hands, which may or may not be painful. Some people experience this damage as pain, tingling or numbness, while others have no symptoms at all. Diabetic nerve pain from damaged nerves is a unique type of pain that is different from the pain you may experience from a headache, a sprained ankle or arthritis.

FOOT AND TOE CRAMPS

This is related to arthritis

For a number of years I have sold my footwear products to people who have one of the above described ailments. I personally have had foot and toe cramps for some time and all I can find that explains the cause is arthritis which I guess affects every one of us as we age.

I have worn pile lined slippers for year’s summer and winter and while wearing them around the house or watching TV regardless of the time of the year. What I noticed is if I took them off and put my feet on the sofa I would get cramps. When I go to bed I would get cramps so I decided to wear the Lamilite socks since they basically replaced the slippers to keep my feet warmer under the comforter. To my pleasant surprise I did not experience any cramps the first night and as a consequence I have been wearing them every night since. It has been about a month since I started wearing them and no cramps.

As for Raynaud’s disease and Neuropathy I am more than convinced keeping your feet warm is an enormous help. It is only recently that I have taken the time to present the testimonials that I have received from people who suffer these ailments. I spoke with my doctor about the reason for the problem; his answer was a lack of adequate blood flow through the capillaries. When blood does not flow through the capillaries if I understood him correctly cooling of the digits; fingers or toes, a signal is sent to the brain so it further complicates things by believing it has to protect itself by directing the blood supply to the important organs to stay alive. The more he spoke about what the body does to keep alive in directing the blood supply were it is necessary the more fascinated I became with the subject. Our body is an incredible machine so to speak.

For those of you who suffer from these ailments while I am not a doctor it is my belief that the need for keeping the feet as well as hands warm does make a considerable difference in your comfort. I say hands too because when it is cold people with these ailments do get to know about the cold much faster than someone who does not have the ailment.

When you wear the socks the toes are not separated and that should be the same for mitten versus gloves. Not separating the fingers as a glove does makes an enormous difference with respect to hand comfort. So mittens are the only way to go to maintain hand comfort.