Check Your Feet Every Day If You Have Diabetes

Do you inspect your feet regularly? Everyone should, to catch small issues before they become big problems.

But for those with diabetes, it’s essential to check both feet including toes, toenails and skin every day. Here’s why:

• Excess blood sugar can cause nerve damage called neuropathy. Neuropathy causes tingling and pain in the extremities, but most commonly causes loss of sensation or numbness. If you have a loss of feeling in your feet, you won’t know when they become damaged. A cut, scrape or puncture will go unnoticed. Also, you can’t tell if your shoes fit properly and they can rub and irritate the skin so it becomes damaged.

• Uncontrolled blood glucose can also result in peripheral arterial disease or PAD. PAD is a build-up of material on the walls of blood vessels, causing them to narrow and restrict blood flow especially to the extremities.

Put these two problems together – loss of sensation and poor blood flow – and an injury to the foot will go unnoticed and won’t receive the right amount of healing blood that it needs. The result? A foot sore that worsens into a dangerous ulcer may eventually require amputation.

Check Your Feet Every Day

The two best things that you can do to keep your feet healthy if you have diabetes are to visit your podiatrist at least twice a year and check your feet every day.

Follow these steps:

• Set a regular time of day to inspect your feet, just like you brush your teeth.
• View the top and bottom of each foot. You can use a mirror to see the sole or ask a family member to help. Look for anything different, such as a change in shape, temperature or color; tingling or numb areas; cracked skin.
• Scan for any damage, no matter how small, such as a puncture, scrape, cut or bruise.
• Inspect your toes and toenails too as well as the skin between the toes. Watch for an ingrown toenail where the skin will be red, tender and warm. Look for a rash between the toes that may be the beginning of an infection.

Be sure to report any damage quickly to us so we can begin treatment immediately and reduce the risk of a serious complication.

We Can Help with All Aspects of Diabetic Foot Care

For any type of foot or ankle pain, call us. Foot pain is not normal! If you have pain from bunions or any other foot or ankle condition or have suffered any type of foot injury, please call Dr. Christopher M. Funk, Dr. Bradley A. Whitaker or Dr. Peter C. Merrill at Desert Podiatric Medical Specialists. Our professional staff offers expert podiatry services at three Pima County offices: Tucson, Oro Valley and Green Valley. Please call us today at (520) 575-0800 to schedule your appointment.