Diabetic foot problems and foot care

Diabetes is a chronic condition, improper management will lead to complications in many parts of the body. In our previous blogs, we have discussed, how diabetes affects our eyes, , oral health. Now we will be discussing how diabetes affects the foot and about diabetic foot problems.

High blood sugar in the blood for a very long time will lead to complications in both and diabetes people. High blood sugar levels will lead to damage in the tiny blood cells and nerves present in different parts of the body. Diabetes also has a high potency to affect blood flow. Nerve damage and change in blood flow in the legs and feet will lead to many diabetic foot problems like

Diabetic Neuropathy:

High blood sugar levels for a very long time will damage the nerves in the legs and results in diabetic neuropathy. The about half diabetic population is suffering from any kind of nerve damage. In diabetic neuropathy, the affected patient won’t be able to feel the pain, heat, cold, cut, or sores. If you won’t feel the pain then while you get cut or sore you will notice after the wound gets infected resulting in huge complications. There are two important types of neuropathy

Peripheral Vascular Disease:

Peripheral vascular disease is referred to as poor blood circulation in arms and legs. Diabetes can affect the blood flow which leads to delayed healing of wounds. Poor blood flow will make your foot less able to fight infection and to heal.

Calluses:

For diabetic patients, calluses will be more common and it is built so fast. This is due to high pressure on the feet. Calluses refer to hard skin at the bottom of the foot, a large number of calluses indicate the patient should wear therapeutic shoes.

If the calluses are left uncut then it may get thick, hard, and change into ulcers. Calluses can also be developed due to poor-fitting shoes. Never try to trim the calluses on your own it may lead to many difficulties. Always seek help from your health care provider to cut or trim the calluses.

Foot Ulcer:

A foot ulcer is principally caused due to the poor circulation of blood in the foot. Mostly the foot ulcer is beneath the toe or on the ball of the foot. If you get an ulcer on the sides of the foot it may mainly due to unfitting shoes. All diabetic patients can develop a foot ulcer.

If you feel an ulcer in your foot, reach your physician directly. Proper treatment will help to control additional damage. Mostly the foot ulcer treatment involves removing the dead tissues and infection. Walking with an ulcer will enlarge and deepen the infection. One of the most notable symptoms of foot ulcers is black tissue. Swelling, redness, irritation, odor are the early signs of foot ulcers.

Other foot complications due to diabetes are Blisters, Bunions, Dry skin, Hammertoes, Charcot foot, Plantar warts, Amputation.

Tips For Good Foot Care:

1. Manage the blood sugar level properly. Proper management of diabetes by insulin, . and , diabetic diet, and medication will highly reduce the complications. There are specified diet for and diabetes control which will be more effective in diabetes management.
2. Wash your feet with warm water every day using a soap mildly.
3. helps you with better blood circulation. Do regularly.
4. Check your feet every day for calluses, cut, or sore, which will lead to early treatment.
5. Wear properly fitted shoes.
6. Smoking causes very damage to the circulation of blood. If you are a smoker with diabetes then completely stop smoking for avoiding complications due to diabetes. Most people getting amputation due to diabetes are smokers.
7. Don’t walk barefooted even inside the house, try to avoid accidentally walking on the hot pavements.
8. Wearing closed-toe footwear will protect your toes and fingers from any cut or sores.

Diabetes may lead to many complications and loss of limb, but proper management of diabetes and diabetic foot care will prevent you from complications. Many apps are available to control diabetes in this android era, provides a high-end solution for managing diabetes in both mobiles and web applications. Cankado provides the solution for tracking of your health status and proper connection to your physician about your health. Cankado has a better and unique solution for diabetes patients.

Originally published at https://diabetes.cankado.com on August 18, 2020.