Foot Care for Diabetics
Diabetes is a metabolic condition that can affect different areas of your body, even when your treatment is successful. One area that most people don’t think about is the foot. As a diabetic, taking care of your feet is paramount to your overall health and well-being.
Hard Working Feet
Let’s face it – the feet are the hardest working body parts you have. They hold up all the weight of your body. When we “tiptoe through the tulips,” our feet get stung, stepped on, stubbed, and even cut up by jagged stones and litter. Sometimes our feet take a real beating, but still endure.
Diabetes may affect the feet and go unnoticed. In diabetic patients, wounds take longer to heal. There is the potential for nerve and blood vessel damage in your feet as well as throughout the body. So, one small cut on the bottom of your foot could go undetected. That cut could turn into an unhealed sore that, left unattended, could lead to gangrene. For a diabetic patient, gangrene is the last word they ever want to hear.
Caring for Your Feet
Now, we turn to a more pleasant aspect of foot care: simple things to do to keep your feet healthy. Your feet work hard. Why shouldn’t they get special care?
Use the following tips to keep your feet healthy:
1. Examine your feet everyday – At the beginning of the day, perhaps after your morning shower, examine all sides of your feet and between your toes for any injuries or suspicious looking spots. Even a slight redness from irritation can turn into a serious concern if you don’t attend to it.
2. Wear cotton socks – Cotton is good for wicking moisture away from the feet. Too much moisture can provide a place for bacteria to grow and cause an infection. Damp feet are likely to chafe, and chafing causes irritation which can lead to sores.
3. Wear comfortable shoes – Neither the shoes or the socks you wear need be too tight. That can cut off circulation and lead to problems. If you have problems with arches wear gel supports in your shoes for better comfort. If you have shoes that don’t fit properly, get rid of them. It’s better to find one or two pair that fit well. Go to a good shoe store if you need help getting a comfortable fit.
4. Get medical attention for feet problems – It is tempting to self-diagnose and treat simple things like blisters on your feet, but don’t. Pricking a blister to drain it, or peeling off the skin, can introduce infection into your foot. You may end up with an open wound that will have a hard time healing properly. If you notice a blister or something else on your foot, get it taken care of by your health professional.
5. Eat sensibly – Keeping your blood sugar under control helps your feet. How? Preventing nerve damage is key to keeping your feet healthy. Many people don’t know that they have stepped on something and cut their foot until the injury becomes very serious. This complication, nerve damage, as well as others, can be prevented by keeping your diabetes under control with proper diet.
Foot care is important for everyone, but especially for diabetics. Take care of your feet daily in order to prevent serious problems later down the road.
The Diabetes Diet
Type 2 diabetes is often treated with diet, exercise, and medication. Type 1 diabetes incorporates insulin into the equation to control blood sugar. In both cases, your doctor may place you on a special diabetes diet to help keep your blood sugar stable.
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