Diabetes can cause anemia, kidney and circulation problems, which can lead people to feel cold.
Colder temperatures make managing blood glucose especially challenging. The chilly weather can affect your blood glucose level, the Joslin Diabetes Center says, to say nothing of the added exertion of winter sports and cravings for carbohydrates on frigid nights. Keeping your glucose in range can be tricky.
Insulin freezes at around 32°F (0°C), and frozen insulin doesn't work anymore, even when thawed. The cold can also damage insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. Prepare a backup kit. Having a diabetes care kit can help you manage diabetes during times of emergency like a snowstorm.
Here are some of the signs and symptoms of poor circulation in people with diabetes. Cold hands and feet. Narrowed blood vessels, along with nerve damage, conspire to make the hands and feet feel chilled. Numbness or tingling in the feet and hands.
Avoid soaking your feet, as this can lead to dry skin. Dry your feet gently, especially between the toes. Moisturize your feet and ankles with lotion or petroleum jelly. Do not put oils or creams between your toes — the extra moisture can lead to infection.
The link between diabetes and poor circulation
Diabetes puts you at high risk for conditions that affect your circulatory system, including: High blood glucose levels cause fatty deposits to form inside blood vessels. Over time, these deposits make your blood vessels narrow and hard, lessening blood flow.
Cold weather can slow blood flow around the body, which can increase risk of heart attacks and stroke. And because diabetes already makes you more at risk of these complications, it's really important you do everything you can to stay warm.
Sitting in the sun for long periods can affect your diabetes because you're not being very active, making blood sugar levels higher than usual.
Along with flushing out the toxins from your body, it also helps to maintain your body temperature. Thus, drinking water lowers your blood pressure levels and eases the blood sugar levels immediately. A glass of lukewarm water, first thing in the morning, helps improve metabolism.
If your feet are cold, you may want to warm them. Keep aware that, unfortunately, if you have nerve damage, your feet may not be able feel heat properly and it is easy for you to burn them with hot water, hot water bottles, or heating pads. The best way to warm cold feet is to wear warm socks.
Ideal storage temperature for diabetic testing supplies
Extreme heat and cold can affect insulin, test strips and glucose monitors. Never leave these supplies in a car, no matter what time of year. The meter should also be stored and used in a room that remains between 50 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to Laura Hieronymus, MD, vice president of health care programs at the American Diabetes Association, “Fatigue is a symptom of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). When blood glucose levels are too high, the body is not processing glucose as energy; therefore, tiredness or fatigue may occur.”
Some people naturally tend to feel colder than others without any discernible cause. However, cold intolerance can also indicate an underlying medical condition, such as hypothyroidism, anemia, or peripheral artery disease.
People with diabetes often suffer night sweats due to low blood sugar levels, or nocturnal hypoglycemia . A drop in blood glucose can cause all sorts of symptoms, including headaches and severe sweating.
Do not eat white bread, chips, and pastries, which quickly increase blood sugar. Avoid processed foods and meats as they will be rich in salt and oil. Restrict fried and fatty foods. Do not take full fat dairy products.
For people with diabetes, blood sugar can spike. Dehydration—less water in your body means your blood sugar is more concentrated. Nose spray—some have chemicals that trigger your liver to make more blood sugar. Gum disease—it's both a complication of diabetes and a blood sugar spiker.
Certain diabetes complications, such as damage to blood vessels and nerves, can affect your sweat glands so your body can't cool as effectively. That can lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. People with diabetes get dehydrated (lose too much water from their bodies) more quickly.
For many people with diabetes, as the temperature drops, blood sugars rise. That's because when snow, ice and cold weather keep you inside, you may exercise less and eat more. Here are a few tips to better control your blood sugars during the winter months — and keep those winter blues away!
The symptoms of diabetes include feeling very thirsty, passing more urine than usual, and feeling tired all the time. The symptoms occur because some or all of the glucose stays in your blood and isn't used as fuel for energy.
Tingling, burning, or pain in your feet. Loss of sense of touch or ability to feel heat or cold very well. A change in the shape of your feet over time. Loss of hair on your toes, feet, and lower legs.
Although rare, nerve damage from diabetes can lead to changes in the shape of your feet, such as Charcot's foot. Charcot's foot may start with redness, warmth, and swelling. Later, bones in your feet and toes can shift or break, which can cause your feet to have an odd shape, such as a “rocker bottom.”