How Qutenza Helps with Diabetic Nerve Pain in the Feet?
Beyond managing blood sugar, people living with diabetes face many challenges, including diabetic neuropathy. It’s a type of nerve damage that often affects the feet, causing burning, tingling, numbness or sharp pain. It can make simple tasks uncomfortable.
If you’ve been struggling with diabetic-related nerve pain that doesn’t seem to go away, you’re not alone. New treatment options of diabetic neuropathy, such as Quentenza, is a promising solution that your podiatrist might recommend. This targeted therapy is designed to help reduce nerve pain directly at its source.
What Is Qutenza?
Qutenza is a prescription patch that contains capsaicin (8%), the same compound found in chili peppers that gives the heat sensation— but in a highly concentrated, medical-grade form. It’s FDA-approved for treating nerve pain in adults, including pain from diabetic peripheral neuropathy that affects the feet.
Unlike over-the-counter creams, Qutenza is applied in-office by a healthcare provider, ensuring safety and effectiveness.
How Does Qutenza Work in Diabetic Foot Pain?
When diabetic neuropathy develops, the nerves in your feet become overactive, sending constant pain signals to your brain — even when there’s no injury. Qutenza works by using a high concentration of capsaicin to target these overactive pain fibers in the skin.
Here’s what happens:
- The capsaicin in Qutenza temporarily reduces the activity of pain-signaling nerves.
- This gives your nerves a kind of “reset,” helping to calm the constant pain messages.
- Over time, this can lead to significant relief lasting weeks or even months after a single treatment.
During application, some patients feel warmth, tingling, or mild burning, but these sensations typically fade after the treatment session. The procedure itself is usually completed in about 30 minutes per foot. Your healthcare provider must check your blood pressure during treatment with QUTENZA.
Watch the following videos to learn more:
Conclusion
Addressing pain right where it starts helps restore comfort and make walking, sleeping and every day life a little easier again. That’s why it is important to seek help from healthcare professionals, such as podiatrists. They can help determine if Qutenza is the right treatment for you. Like any other treatments, it also involves potential risks and side effects.
If you’re living with diabetic neuropathy and want to explore whether Qutenza might be right for you, reach out to Central Massachusetts Podiatry. Our board-certified podiatrists and foot & ankle surgeons can assess your unique situation and tailor a treatment plan based on your needs. Schedule an appointment today.
