Podiatry, or the treatment of feet and their ailments, is very essential to those with diabetes.Podiatrist and diabetes care are closely linked. This is because diabetes increases the chances of developing foot issues and complications.
Did you know…?
- Diabetes causes nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy
- Diabetes affects the circulation. Poor circulation can affect how the body heals
- Those with diabetes are more prone to infection
- Diabetes complications also affect the feet
- Diabetes can also affect the joints and make them stiff
A Podiatrist Can Help WithDiabetic Care
Diabetic patients, over time, lose the ability to sense pain if they have nerve damage in the foot. As a result of this, a cut, wound, or injury to the foot or toes may go undiscovered. This is dangerous as minor wounds can quickly develop into serious issues, like foot ulcers.
How Can A Podiatrist Help With Diabetic Care?
A podiatrist can be of great assistance here. Podiatry for diabetes is growing in popularity. A podiatrist is a medical professional who specialises in the care and treatment of the feet. A podiatrist would assist in addressing the effects that diabetes might have on your feet. A specially trained podiatrist would be able to evaluate the nerve damage in your feet. They can identify dangers to your particular foot health. Further, they can help develop treatment and preventative strategies, thus playing an important part in podiatry for diabetes.
What Foot Issues Can You Face Due To Diabetes?
Foot problems are common in people with diabetes. They occur when high blood sugar damages the nerves and blood vessels in the feet. This nerve damage, called diabetic neuropathy, can lead to numbness, tingling, pain, or a loss of feeling in your feet.
Due to loss of feeling in the feet, you would not feel pain and thus be unaware when you have a cut, blister, or ulcer (open sore) on your foot. The wound could get infected, which would not heal properly as the damaged blood vessels can cause poor blood flow in the feet. Treatment of ulcers is also expensive and time-consuming.
A foot infection combined with poor blood flow can lead to gangrene. This means the muscle, skin, and other tissues start to die. In case of gangrene or a foot ulcer that does not get better with treatment, amputation may be advised. This is a surgery to cut off your damaged toe, foot, or part of your leg. It may prevent a bad infection from spreading and could save your life.
Nerve injury in the feet can also result in the bones in the feet becoming more brittle. This is known as Charcot foot. Deterioration can cause these bones to fracture and cause foot abnormalities.
What To Talk To Your Podiatrist About?
When seeking podiatry for diabetes, a podiatrist would be able to determine your precise risk factors and what to watch out for. This would help prevent foot wounds caused by diabetes from becoming a serious health problem.
When you make an appointment with a podiatrist, come prepared with all the information about your medical history. Prepare a list of questions or concerns that you wish to discuss with the diabetic podiatrist.
Here are some issues that you might want to discuss regarding podiatry for diabetes…
Testing for nerve damage:
If you have symptoms of neuropathy, a monofilament test or detailed testing for nerve damage would help determine if you have nerve damage. This would enable timely action and treatment to prevent it from getting worse. It would help you tackle the issues that come with nerve damage.
Foot examination:
Regular foot examinations are very important to pick up on cuts, wounds and injuries to the feet or toes. Your diabetic podiatrist can show you how to perform a foot examination at home and the signs to watch out for.
Diabetic socks:
According to clinical studies, monitoring temperature can reduce the risk of foot ulcers and amputations by as much as 87%. Siren diabetic socks can be used for continuous temperature monitoring. Do discuss with your diabetic podiatrist about making diabetic socks a part of your treatment strategy. They not only protect your feet but alert you to the first signs of an injury via a connected app.
Healthy foot care:
Discuss with your diabetic podiatrist the daily precautions you need to take to maintain the health of your feet.
Conclusion
The role of a podiatrist and diabetes care is a very important one. These essential professionals can help prevent and manage foot complications in people with diabetes. Podiatrist and diabetes care can help at every stage, in dealing with prevention, concerns about foot problems and existing diabetic foot-related problems.