Diabetes
Diabetes is also another one of the many causes of excessively sweaty feet. As an endocrine disorder, long-standing diabetes affects the different body systems, sometimes resulting in autonomic dysfunction, overstimulation of the sweat glands, bladder control problems, or unusual heart rate due to fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Sometimes, medications for diabetes also cause excessive sweating.
Diabetes can impact thermoregulation in two different ways: when the blood sugar is too low (hypoglycemia) or when extremely high blood sugar damages specific nerves near sweat glands, causing them to stop working and resulting in autonomic neuropathy and, eventually, in one of the earliest and most feared complications of diabetes—distal symmetric diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
Though complex and expensive, diagnosis of autonomic neuropathy and some other neurophysiological abnormalities is recommended for people with diabetes as this will help them avoid the risk of diabetic foot disease. With proper metabolic and blood sugar control, people with diabetes can take advantage of optimum preventative measures which will help them prevent diabetic progression, avoid ulceration and eventual amputation of the ‘at risk foot’, and in some cases, even reverse the disease.
