Posts for category: Diabetes
One of the most important things for a diabetic is to be aware of proper foot care! Many adults can’t reach or see their feet and take the out of sight, out of mind approach. This is not recommended for diabetics or even prediabetics. Podiatry checkups are a must to avoid complications of diabetes affecting the feet like ulcers, infections and fungus.
Many people do not realize what a podiatry exam entails: circulation is checked by palpating the foot pulses, sensation and reflexes are tested, skin and nails are examined, gait is analyzed to check for undue stresses while walking. Shoes are evaluated and activities are discussed.
Some of the home care instructions include:
- Do not walk barefoot,
- Shoes should be supportive with proper fit and avoid manmade materials,
- Socks should not be constrictive,
- Skin should be checked daily for cuts, scrapes and foreign body. A mirror can be used as an aide to see the bottom of the foot,
- Dry well between toes,
- Proper diet and exercise.
One of the goals of a podiatrist is to keep diabetics informed so they can have a long life with happy, healthy feet!!
Left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to too much sugar in the blood stream. This makes the blood thicker, more syrupy, which often damages blood vessels and nerves in the foot.
Your circulation system carries blood, oxygen, and nutrients throughout your body. When you have poor circulation, your feet often suffer. Wounds and infections are slower to heal, tissue breakdown may form, and the lack of circulation can cause severe and debilitating pain.
With neuropathy, there are different sensations. You may feel pins and needles in your feet, a burning sensation often at night, numbness, or a feeling like ants crawling on your feet. Sensory neuropathy, is the loss a feeling, or any of the above noted abnormal sensations, which can be extremely dangerous because pain is the body‘s way of telling you something is wrong. Motor neuropathy is the loss of movement control, or weakness, which can lead to conditions like hammertoe, or contracted digits. Autonomic neuropathy affects the nerves that help the body regulate itself – this includes things like dry skin or brittle nails. This can lead to cracks in the skin, or fissures, which have the potential to become infected. Some nerve damage is reversible; some is not.
Prevention and early detection are the best treatments for potential foot problems if you are a diabetic. If you are a diabetic, please call one of our Advanced Podiatry offices in Manhasset, Huntington, Plainview, or Maspeth and set up an appointment with one of our award-winning expert podiatrists for an evaluation, so that we can develop a comprehensive care plan together.
A small cut, or bruise may not seem like a big deal, but for millions of Americans with diabetes, they can be. For individuals with diabetes, all wounds are a serious health concern and require careful attention.
People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop peripheral vascular disease, a condition of poor circulation. Diabetes can also weaken our immunity, which complicates wound healing. If your immune system isn’t functioning at its best, your body may struggle to fight off bacteria that cause infection. Higher than normal blood sugar levels increase the possibility of infection because bacteria thrive on the extra sugar that’s available in the bloodstream.
If your infection is untreated and left to spread, it can lead to complications such as gangrene, or sepsis, often resulting in hospitalization and amputation.
If you have any question regarding a diabetic foot wound please contact Advanced Podiatry of Manhasset, Huntington, Plainview, or Maspeth to be evaluated by one of our expert podiatrists as soon as possible. All of our expert doctors have had advanced training in the management of Diabetic Foot Infections.
Good foot care is essential for people with diabetes. Diabetes can cause nerve damage that leads to a loss of sensation in the feet, making it difficult to feel any sores, blisters, or injuries.
People with diabetes should regularly inspect their feet. The best time is immediately after a shower while drying your feet, or at the end of the day when removing socks and shoes.
If you notice a blister [or any wound, or redness], apply a clean dressing with an antiseptic, stay off the foot, and call to schedule to be evaluated by one of our expert podiatrists at Advanced Podiatry of Manhasset, Huntington, Plainview, or Maspeth.
Half of all people with diabetes will develop diabetic neuropathy, which causes numbness as a result of dying nerves, usually in the feet. With this condition, people may develop a foot sore without knowing it. If the wound becomes infected, this may result in the foot having to be amputated. In fact, there is an amputation around the world every 20 seconds due to foot ulcers caused by diabetes.
During the pandemic, the expert podiatrists at Advanced Podiatry of Manhasset, Huntington, Plainview, and Maspeth are urging patients to seek regular diabetic foot check ups because foot sores can creep up silently and quickly. The expert podiatrists at Advanced Podiatry have found that regular diabetic foot examinations are often effective in stopping diabetes-caused foot infections.
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