When someone has diabetes, proper foot care plays a key role. Poor foot care may lead to dreadful complications. If you are a person with diabetes, you are more vulnerable to foot problems, because diabetes can damage your nerves and reduce blood flow to your feet. By taking proper care of your feet, most serious health problems associated with diabetes can be prevented.
When to start worrying?
- As the sensation in the foot or extremities decreases
- If you have the symptoms of burning sensation of extremities
- If you have any delay in the wound healing or any sores in the extremities.
When you are prone to this complication? If you’re having
- blood sugars are uncontrolled
- overweight
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- any kidney disease
How to prevent these complications?
- be physically active
- quit smoking
- follow your diabetes meal plan properly
- limit alcohol intake
- take timely diabetic medications by dose adjusting from your treating doctor
Here are some foot care tips to follow in Diabetes:
- Inspect your foot daily. Look and feel for any signs of injury, redness, swelling, bad odour, bruising etc
- Keep the feet clean and dry
- Do not walk barefooted, use soft and comfortable footwear.
- Wash your feet in lukewarm water
- Wear well fitting soft shoes- keep one for outdoors and one for indoors
- Do not trim corn and calluses yourself
- Avoid injuries and burns to extremities
- Nails should be cut properly with nail cutter only, do look for any ingrown nails
- Wear comfortable thin cotton socks. Cotton socks absorb sweat and do not cause skin irritation.
- Dust talcum powder between toes to prevent accumulation of moisture.
- Do not apply heating or cooling pads over your legs
- Do not sit with legs crossed as it might impair blood circulation to leg
- Do not smoke as it affects blood supply to your feet
- Good glycemic control
- Prompt consultation with a good diabetologist or chiropodist whenever any lesion or injury detected.
It is your feet and finally it’s you who have to act. So taking care of these simple things will definitely keep your feet healthy.
-Dr.Bhavani Sagar Surampally
#Thinkhealth blog 