Why Diabetics Should Take Extra Care of Their Feet

Your feet are an important aspect of your daily activities. When you have diabetes, you need to take extra precautions to keep your feet safe and healthy. This condition causes issues with feeling in your feet, which could cause blisters or ulcers to form without you knowing it.

At Beltsville Foot and Ankle Center, our team takes your foot health seriously, especially when you’re diabetic. Dr. David Deiboldt is our podiatry specialist who offers a variety of treatments when you’re having problems with your feet. He also provides tips on how to care for your feet as a diabetic.

How diabetes affects your feet

Diabetes is a condition that affects how your body uses insulin, or how your pancreas produces insulin to control your glucose. Type 1 diabetes happens when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, and type 2 diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t use insulin correctly.

High levels of glucose in your blood wreaks havoc on your body. Continuous high levels of glucose in your blood damages your blood vessels and nerves in your legs and feet.

One of the ways diabetes affects your body is through neuropathy. The nerve damage brought on by neuropathy makes it hard to feel sensations in your feet. It also leads to numbness, tingling, and shooting pain. 

Neuropathy significantly affects the health of your feet because you can’t always feel when you get a cut or blister. If you don’t know it’s there, these issues may cause an infection. Without good blood flow from damaged vessels, the infection won’t heal.

In severe cases of infections or diabetic ulcers, other tissues may become involved, including your bone or muscle. When this happens, you could end up needing an amputation. However, this can be avoided with vigorous care of your feet.

Complications of diabetic foot

There are a lot of complications of diabetes, especially when it comes to your feet. If you’re not careful, you could suffer from any of the following outcomes of diabetic neuropathy:

Dry skin

The nerve damage from diabetic neuropathy makes your skin dry. Your skin may end up cracking or splitting, which you might not be able to feel. 

Calluses

When you have diabetes, calluses are very common. They happen due to pressure on certain areas of your feet. If calluses go untreated, they break down, sometimes turning into diabetic ulcers. 

Poor circulation

Neuropathy causes the blood vessels in your legs and feet to shrink, affecting the circulation to this area. Poor blood flow makes it difficult for your body to heal infections or ulcers that form on your feet due to diabetes.

Diabetic ulcers

Ulcers typically form on areas of pressure, like the ball of your foot. Sometimes ulcers don’t hurt, but you should still have them evaluated by Dr. Deiboldt. Untreated ulcers may become infected, and lead to long-term issues.

How to properly care for your feet

When you have diabetes, taking care of your feet is essential. If you don’t properly tend to your feet, it leads to dangerous consequences.

Dr. Deiboldt and his team help you understand the proper techniques for looking after your feet. Some of the tips he recommends for diabetic feet include:

• Check your feet everyday
• Always wear clean, dry socks
• Be careful when cutting your nails
• Don’t walk barefoot
• Use lukewarm water to wash your feet
• Always dry your feet completely
• Don’t try to cut off corns or calluses
• Wear socks to bed if your feet get cold at night
• Check your shoes before putting them on

The most important aspect of caring for your feet is knowing when to get help. If you notice any issues with your feet, make sure to contact our office right away. It doesn’t take long for an ulcer to turn into an infection, which could be treated early on.

If you’re diabetic, your foot health matters. To learn more about how to care for your feet, call our office in Beltsville, Maryland at 301-804-1174, or book a consultation online today.