Original editorial department Dayu
Aunt Li is 68 years old and has always been in good health, except for high blood pressure. However, since autumn and winter this year, Aunt Li has often been itchy, and the back of her hand, armpits and even perianal areas are often itchy, which makes her unable to sleep well in the middle of the night and eat well during the day.
She thought it was because she was old and her skin was too dry. It was useless to apply body lotion for a while. Finally, her daughter said to her, "Have you checked your blood sugar recently? Do you want to go to the hospital?" After going to the hospital, she actually got diabetes.
It is common for people to itch when they are old. What is the relationship with diabetes?
Three parts and one time.
Be wary of itching.
Even young people are prone to dry and itchy skin in autumn and winter, not to mention elderly people with aging skin.
However, skin itching is indeed the most common complication of diabetes. About 30% of patients with type 2 diabetes were diagnosed with skin itching before they were diagnosed with diabetes, and its prevalence rate was 7% ~ 43%, which was 2.7 times that of non-diabetic patients.
Why does diabetes itch the skin?
There are several main reasons-
Hyperglycemia affects the skin. Hyperglycemia can cause changes in plasma and osmotic pressure, and skin tissue fluid is in a high osmotic state, resulting in dehydration of cells, which reduces the protective function of skin surface and causes itching and dryness.
The skin is dry and aging. Diabetes patients are mostly middle-aged and elderly people, and the aging state such as slow skin metabolism, less oil secretion and chapped skin will also produce symptoms such as itchy skin.
Lipid metabolism disorder. Diabetes patients have disorder of lipid metabolism and impaired microcirculation regulation mechanism, structure and function, which leads to microcirculation disorder and aggravates dry skin.
Bacterial infection, etc. Diabetic patients are prone to secondary bacterial, fungal and viral infections due to the damage of peripheral blood vessels, which aggravates skin damage and causes skin itching.
Of course, not all "body itching" means that you have diabetes, but Aunt Li’s itching symptoms are mainly due to several special parts and special time periods.
In fact, if you want to judge whether it is caused by diabetes, you can pay attention to three parts and one time period-
Perianal pruritus
Aunt Li’s perianal pruritus is more serious. Hyperglycemia will destroy the microenvironment of the pudendal region, cause imbalance of local flora, more skin wrinkles around the perianal region and external genitalia, and sweat and feces hide dirt and shelter evil people. The environment is relatively humid, causing bacteria to breed and inflammation to cause itching.
Itching of hands and feet
In addition to the perianal region, Aunt Li’s back often itches. In fact, when blood sugar rises, it will lead to the transfer of water in the skin to the blood, causing chronic dehydration, causing dry skin, stimulating skin peripheral nerves and causing itching.
The extremities are particularly prone to itching, and the most common part is the itching of the calf.
Ear itch
If blood sugar is not controlled for a long time, it will irritate the skin and cause itchy ears. Long-term hyperglycemia leads to abnormal secretion in the ear (such as increased secretion) and intermittent itching.
Itching gets worse at night
If the skin itches like Aunt Li, it will last for more than one month without mosquito bites, especially at night, indicating that the blood sugar has exceeded the standard for a long time, resulting in damage to the body’s microvessels.
Relieve diabetic itching
It is better to take medicine and have a good attitude towards life.
The biggest trouble of diabetic pruritus is that it is repeated, which brings serious life troubles to sugar friends, but it is not impossible to improve and alleviate-
PART 01
Controlling blood sugar and blood lipid is fundamental.
The most important thing is to strictly control blood sugar and blood lipids, use drugs scientifically, and control the indicators within a reasonable range. Patients with type 2 diabetes use drugs such as metformin according to the doctor’s advice.
PART 02
Quit smoking and drinking, improve living habits
Nicotine in cigarettes can cause strong vasoconstriction and vasospasm, aggravate vascular endothelial injury, lead to decreased skin blood flow, easily aggravate skin dryness and cause itching, and drinking alcohol can easily stimulate and cause vasoconstriction, so it is necessary to quit smoking and drinking alcohol.
At the same time, we should also ensure adequate sleep, get enough exercise every day and control our weight.
PART 03
Pay attention to skin moisturizing and cleaning.
Close-fitting clothes should be soft and choose soft cotton and other materials; Wear less chemical fiber or fur clothing, change clothes and quilt frequently to reduce skin irritation.
Usually pay attention to moisturizing and hydrating the skin, do not over-clean, pay attention to applying moisturizer in winter, and drink more than 1500ml of water every day.
PART 04
Use drugs when necessary.
If there is unexplained pain or itching, especially if it persists for a long time, you should seek medical attention in time and use some drugs such as cyproheptadine cream to relieve itching discomfort under the guidance of a doctor.
PART 05
Keep a steady and good attitude.
Anxiety, irritability and other moods will often aggravate the adverse reactions of the skin. Try to maintain an optimistic, cheerful and calm mood at ordinary times, which will help relieve itching symptoms.
Itching is just a common symptom of physical discomfort, and finding the root cause behind it is the best way to maintain health.
References:
[1]. Pu Shihan Pang Manli Limei Xu. Analysis of influencing factors of diabetic patients complicated with pruritus [J]. Journal of Medicine of PLA. Vol.33,No.7,July.2021.P78-81;
[2]. Zhang Lulu Gao Jing Bai Dingxi et al. meta-analysis of risk factors of skin itching in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in China [J]. Modern Clinical Medicine. Jun.2023, Vol.49 ,No.3.P206-213;
[3]. Hao Guohong. The incidence and risk factors of skin itching in patients with type 2 diabetes [J]. Prescription drugs in China. Vol.21 No.6.P8-11.
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