I have a small electric heating pad that I use to warm my back and reduce pain. It has an attatched warning label that mostly makes obvious sense to me.
It says the heating pad may cause burns if used too long. Don’t use when sleeping, if paralyzed, if onconscious etc.
But it also says don’t use if Diabetic. Why is this? Are diabetic people susceptable to becoming unconcious, or having reduced skin heat sensitivity?
The latter. One of the side effects of diabetes is that your extremeties can become less sensitive, and personally, I’ve found that your heat sensitivity is also reduced - I can hold hot handles on saucepans etc, that others find too hot to touch. This increases the risk of burns etc. Which will take ages to heal, as diabetics are notorious for taking longer than normal to heal.
Diabetics tend to have poorer circulation, as well. Not only can your skin be less sensitive, it can actually be completely numb. My brother has no feeling in his feet and must check daily for blisters or cuts to make sure there are no infections brewing.
Thank you, I didn’t knw about poor heat sensitivity. I think this is a case of STRAIGHT DOPE doing what it is meant to do.
Do any diabetics find they have reduced heat sensitivity in their mouth? Are hot food burns more likely?
I’ve never read of, nor experienced, reduced sensitivity in the mouth to heat or cold. I believe the main nerves which are impacted are ones on the extremities (which has been my experience).
Since being diagnozed with diabetes 13 years ago, I’ve noticed that my fingers have become more sensitive to heat … to the extent that I can no longer remove toast from the toaster with my fingers. Wonder if there’s a connection, or purely coincidence?
One of the paradoxes of diabetic nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy) is that sometimes there can actually be hypersensitivity to stimuli. There can even be both hyper- and hyposensitivity in the same limb.
All too often, there are even spontaneous sensations, especially those of pain. Treatment is often difficult.
Here is a rather high-level review of the subject.
(BTW, although poor circulation is very common in diabetes, the problems discussed in this thread are due to neuropathy per se.)