Monofilament diabetes

Monofilament diabetes

Peripheral neuropathy (PN), or nerve damage of the extremities, is one of the most common complications of diabetes (60 percent of all people with the disease develop it at some point). Symptoms include burning, tingling, numbness, a prickly sensation (like "pins and needles"), and muscle weakness. Neuropathy is the result of chronically high blood sugars, so the best way to prevent it is to maintain good glucose control. To check for neuropathy, your doctor should perform a monofilament test a measure of the sensation in your feet at least annually. In this simple yet sensitive evaluation, the monofilament, which is a piece of plastic fiber resembling fishing line, is touched against various parts of the sole of your foot, and your ability to feel it at varying pressure is assessed. It is sometimes called the l0 gram monofilament test because the fiber is calibrated to bend to 10 grams of pressure. Your doctor may also use a tuning fork on the bottoms of your feet to see if you can sense the vibration. Nerve conduction studies or velocity tests, which use electrodes to stimulate nerves and then measure the resulting impulses, are a less frequently used, more sophisticated method of diagnosing some neuropathies. Electromyography (EMG), which uses thin needles inserted into the muscles to measure electrical impulses, may also be prescribed. These latter two tests can be painful, and may not be ordered unless there is some question about the diagnosis.The monofilament test for diabetic patients consists of nylon strands on stiff paper handles being pressed against a patient's foot until they bend. If the patient cannot feel the sensation, the doctor moves on to a thicker monofilament that requires more pressure. The doctor notes the size of monofilament that eventually elicits a sensation. This gives him an idea of the sensitivity of the patient's feet over time and whether nerve damage is occurring.

There are some good local companies producing Monofilament diabetes indigenously available easily for the patients and medical fraternity to test the loss of protective sensation in the patients. These filaments are calibrated exactly to exert 10 grams of pressure in the foot area of the patients. Monofilament Diabetes is calibrated to bend when the pressure is applied vertically to the patient by a trained physician when the pressure reaches exactly 10 grams. If the patient does not report sensation when Monofilament Diabetes is applied it can be assumed that the patient lost the sensation in that particular area.



World Health Organization recommended the patients of diabetes to undergo Monofilament Diabetes test at least once in a year to know the sensational damage occurred during the course. Monofilament Diabetes is a very easy and patient friendly test which is also very cost effective. Foot ulcers are very common in patients suffering from diabetes and foot care really plays a very crucial role in the life of a diabetic patients. They have to monitor their feet at periodical intervals to find any kind of abnormality. Once they find any abnormality immediately they have to report the matter to the physician to prevent the future damage and amputation surgery.