Diabetes and your feet; why foot checks matter.
Diabetes, mainly referring to the more common form — type 2 diabetes — is a condition in which your body is unable to properly regulate the glucose levels in your bloodstream.
Those high levels of glucose can damage the nerves in your body, especially the peripheral nerves in your lower extremities, including your feet. Unregulated glucose can hamper your circulation, which can exacerbate any problem that develops in your feet.
One of the primary diabetic foot problems seen in the feet is nerve damage, also known as peripheral neuropathy. The second problem stems from the insufficient circulation in your feet, putting you at risk of ulcers and infection, which can ultimately lead to amputation.
To avoid the serious complications in feet caused by diabetes, it is recommended that anyone with diabetes get routine diabetic foot checks to better monitor and intervene at the earliest signs of a problem. If you want to avoid the potentially life-changing foot complications that are associated with diabetes, it is important that you make diabetic foot care a regular part of your overall wellness regimen.
Early intervention is critical! For example, a simple callous can turn into a sore in your foot, which could then lead to an infection and become limb threatening. Furthermore, monitoring for early signs of neuropathy could assist with identifying and preventing further nerve damage in the feet. Seemingly minor issues can be highly problematic when you have diabetes, as you want to avoid wounds on your lower limbs and feet.
It is important that a patient be able to properly check their feet, identify changes, and understand the correct footwear to utilize to give themselves the best shot at preventing further complications caused from diabetes, with diabetic foot ulcers being the primary limb threatening complication if not addressed and treated in a timely manner.
In conclusion, diabetes can have serious complications, and it is vitally important that you focus on your foot health. If you are or have been recently diagnosed as diabetic, but have not had a routine foot check recently, it is important to make an appointment. Early monitoring can help identify minor complications that can be treated before they become major, life altering complications in the future.