Can diabetes cause tingling in my feet?
Yes, diabetes can cause tingling in your feet. Years of high sugar damage the longest nerves first, so numbness, tingling, burning or pins and needles usually start in the toes and soles, often worse at night.
It matters beyond discomfort: numb feet miss small injuries that become ulcers. Daily foot checks and well-fitting shoes become really protective habits.
New tingling deserves a doctor visit to confirm the cause, check vitamin B12 among other things, and tighten sugar control, which slows or halts the damage.
Source: American Diabetes Association, Standards of Care in Diabetes
See a doctor promptly if
- Extreme thirst, frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, rapid breathing or drowsiness. This can be a diabetic emergency, seek urgent care
- Unintentional weight loss with thirst and urination, especially in someone slim or young. This may be type 1 diabetes and needs same-day assessment
- A foot wound, ulcer or infection that is not healing, with known or suspected diabetes
- Sudden vision loss or new floaters in one or both eyes
- Confusion, sweating and shakiness that improve with sugar in someone using glucose-lowering medication
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Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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