Tips For Diabetic Foot Care
Proper foot care can prevent these common foot problems or treat them before they cause serious complications. Here are some tips for good foot care:
What Is Diabetic Neuropathy
Chronically high sugar levels associated with uncontrolled diabetes can cause nerve damage that interferes with the ability to sense pain and temperature. This so-called “sensory diabetic neuropathy” increases the risk a person with diabetes will not notice problems with his or her feet. Nearly 10% of people with diabetes develop foot ulcers due to peripheral vascular disease and nerve damage. People with diabetes may not notice sores or cuts on the feet, which in turn can lead to an infection. Nerve damage can also affect the function of foot muscles, leading to improper alignment and injury.
What Are Some Common Foot Problems Of People With Diabetes
Anyone can get the foot problems listed below. For people with diabetes, however, these common foot problems can possibly lead to infection and serious complications that could make amputation necessary.
Athletes foot Athletes foot is a fungus that causes itching, redness, and cracking. Germs can enter through the cracks in your skin and cause an infection. Medicines that kill the fungus are used to treat athletes foot. These medicines may be pills and/or creams applied directly to the problem area. Ask your healthcare provider to recommend a medication for athletes foot.
Fungal infection of nails Nails that are infected with a fungus may become discolored , thick and brittle, and may separate from the bed of the nail. In some cases, the nail may crumble. The dark, moist and warm environment of shoes can promote fungal growth. In addition, an injury to the nail can put you at risk for a fungal infection. Fungal nail infections are difficult to treat. Topical medications are available, but they only help a small number of fungal nail problems. Oral medications may be prescribed by your health care provider. Treatment also may include periodic removal of the damaged nail tissue.
Dry skin Dry skin can result if the nerves in your legs and feet do not get the message from your brain to sweat, which keeps your skin soft and moist. Dry skin can crack, which can allow germs to enter. Use moisturizing soaps and lotions to help keep your skin moist and soft.
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Yellow Reddish Or Brown Patches On Your Skin
Necrobiosis Lipoidica
This skin condition often begins as small raised solid bumps that look like pimples. As it progresses, these bumps turn into patches of swollen and hard skin. The patches can be yellow, reddish, or brown.
You may also notice:
- The surrounding skin has a shiny porcelain-like appearance
- You can see blood vessels
- The skin is itchy and painful
- The skin disease goes through cycles where it is active, inactive, and then active again
necrobiosis lipodica.
Take action
- Get tested for diabetes, if you have not been diagnosed.
- Work with your doctor to better control your diabetes.
- See a dermatologist about your skin. Necorbiosis lipodica is harmless, but it can lead to complications.
Open Sores And Wounds
Having high blood sugar for a long time can lead to poor circulation and nerve damage. You may have developed these if youve had uncontrolled diabetes for a long time.
Poor circulation and nerve damage can make it hard for your body to heal wounds. This is especially true on the feet. These open wounds are called diabetic ulcers.
Diabetes and feet
- Get immediate medical care for an open sore or wound.
- Work with your doctor to better control your diabetes.
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Foot Problems That Might Mean You Have Diabetes
Did you know there is a connection between your feet and diabetes?;Diabetes is a condition in which the level of glucose in the blood is too high. This is caused by a problem with the hormone insulin and its role in controlling blood glucose levels. Diabetes may lead to higher risk of health complications including developing foot problems.
Every five minutes an Australian develops diabetes
The number of people with diabetes in Australia is three times higher today than it was 25 years ago. Every day, 280 Australians develop diabetes. That’s around one person every five minutes. Around 1.7 million Australians have diabetes and don’t even know it.In the Yarra Ranges, the number of people with diabetes has risen by nearly 180% over the past ten years and each week seven new cases are diagnosed.
Is diabetes affecting you feet?Having diabetes may increase your risk of developing related complications that include nerve damage or poor circulation in your feet. Nerve damage may affect how you feel pressure or pain and may lead to numbness in your toes or feet. Changes to your circulation may delay your ability to heal any cuts or sores, and may also increase your risk of developing ulcers that could even lead to amputations.
Seven signs to look out for
As feet are often the first place to show diabetes-related symptoms, it is important to get your feet checked by a podiatrist. Here are 7 signs and symptoms to look out for include:
What you can do to look after your feet
What Are Diabetic Foot Problems
Diabetes mellitus represents several diseases in which high blood glucose levels over time can damage the nerves, kidneys, eyes, and blood vessels. Diabetes can also decrease the body’s ability to fight infection. When diabetes is not well controlled, damage to the organs and impairment of the immune system is likely. Foot problems commonly develop in people with diabetes and can quickly become serious.
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What Does Diabetic Foot Look Like
Diabetes is a disease that causes faulty or insufficient insulin production or low sensitivity to insulin. Insulin is an essential hormone that is responsible for helping cells absorb sugar from the blood to use for energy. When this process does not work correctly, sugar remains circulating in the blood, causing health problems.
Prolonged periods of high sugar levels in the blood can damage many areas of the body, including the feet. Diabetes is responsible for over 50 percent;of all foot amputations in the United States.
What Are the Symptoms and Signs of Diabetic Foot Problems?
- Persistent pain can be a symptom of sprain, strain, bruise, overuse, improperly fitting shoes, or underlying infection.
- Redness can be a sign of infection, especially when surrounding a wound, or of abnormal rubbing of shoes or socks.
- Swelling of the feet or legs can be a sign of underlying inflammation or infection, improperly fitting shoes, or poor venous circulation. Other signs of poor circulation include the following:
o;;;;;;; Pain in the legs or buttocks that increases with walking but improves with rest
o;;;;;;; Hair no longer growing on the lower legs and feet
o;;;;;;; Hard shiny skin on the legs
How Can Diabetes Affect My Feet?
Diabetes can cause two problems that can affect your feet:
What Are Some Common Foot Problems With Diabetes?
How Can I Address My Diabetic Foot Ulcers
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What Does The Start Of A Diabetic Foot Ulcer Look Like
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How Can Diabetes Affect My Skin
If your blood glucose is high, your body loses fluid, causing your skin to become dry. This occurs because the body is turning the water into urine to remove excess glucose from the blood. Your skin also can get dry if the nerves, especially those in your legs and feet, do not get the message to sweat . Sweating helps keep your skin soft and moist.
Dry skin can become red and sore, and can crack and peel. Germs can enter through the cracks in your skin and cause an infection. In addition, dry skin usually is itchy, and scratching can lead to breaks in the skin and infection.
Skin problems are common in people with diabetes. Blood glucose provides an excellent breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, and can reduce the bodys ability to heal itself. These factors put people with diabetes at greater risk for skin problems. In fact, as many as a third of people with diabetes will have a skin disorder related to their disease at some time in their lives. Fortunately, most skin conditions can be prevented and successfully treated if caught early. But if not cared for properly, a minor skin condition can turn into a serious problem with potentially severe consequences.
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Keep The Blood Flowing To Your Feet
Try the following tips to improve blood flow to your feet:
- Put your feet up when you are sitting.
- Wiggle your toes for a few minutes throughout the day. Move your ankles up and down and in and out to help blood flow in your feet and legs.
- Do not wear tight socks or elastic stockings. Do not try to hold up loose socks with rubber bands.
- Be more physically active. Choose activities that are easy on your feet, such as walking, dancing, yoga or stretching, swimming, or bike riding.
- Stop smoking.
Smoking can lower the amount of blood flow to your feet. If you smoke, ask for help to stop. You can get help by calling the national quitline at 1-800-QUITNOW or 1-800-784-8669. For tips on quitting, go to SmokeFree.gov.
Diabetic Foot Discoloration Pictures
When we speak about diabetic foot such a symptom as foot discoloration should be mentioned. The color of skin on a foot or ankle can change and that is a reason to look for medical attention. The point is that the uncontrolled glucose results in losing fluid and the organism replaces water by urine in order to remove the sugar out of the blood. That makes the skin dry, red or yellow. In addition the small blood vessels providing the skin with blood get affected and lead to development of brown patches on the front of legs.
Vitiligo is often regarded as diabetic foot problems for patients suffering from the first type. It occurs when the particular cells are destroyed and discolored patches appear all over the body. Unfortunately vitiligo is not treated and requires special care like sunscreen when being in sun as far as the discolored areas are very sensitive and inclined to sunburn.
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What To Do If You Notice A Problem
If you see something wrong, its really important to:
- take the weight off your foot
- contact your GP or foot protection team immediately
- go to your nearest out-of-hours healthcare service if your GP or foot protection team arent available.
Its really important to try and sort it out before it gets any worse – no matter how small the change. A serious foot problem for some people can lead to amputation very quickly.
You may be looked after by many different healthcare professionals, who will tell you what to do next. The important thing to remember is to keep your weight off your foot.;
What Causes Diabetic Foot
Diabetic foot is caused by the side effects of diabetes: notably, high blood sugar levels that lead to restricted blood flow to the bodys extremities and nerve damage.
The nerve damage means that the foot is often numb to the sensation of pain so that otherwise minor problems like ulcers and sores can become infected without the diabetic person being aware of it.
When they fail to seek treatment, the infection quickly becomes a larger problem.
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Diabetic Foot Symptoms Pictures
Lets consider the common diabetic foot symptoms . There are two main directions where disease develops. It causes nerve damage and as a result a physician diagnoses diabetic neuropathy, coming out in opposite symptoms: pain and tingling or inability to feel feet. The latter is rather dangerous as far as a patient can fail to notice a wound, which usually leads to diabetic leg ulcers with high probability of further complications like infection, gangrene and amputation.
Also the statistics says that a third of people with high blood sugar can catch diabetic foot fungus invading the skin and bottom of the feet being difficult to heal. If one leaves it untreated the consequences can be serious. Another problem is diabetic foot blisters appearing from nowhere at a single or several locations and treated successfully in two or five weeks keeping level of sugar under control.
What Are The Symptoms And Treatment
Diabetic foot is a condition that can affect you at almost any age but it is more prevalent in seniors.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, roughly one in 10 adults in Canada suffer from diabetes and the likelihood increases proportionally with age.
So does the chance of developing diabetic foot, with all its concerning possible complications .
Lets take a look at what diabetic foot is, the main causes and symptoms, and what you can do about it if you suffer from the condition.
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How Can Diabetes
In addition to keeping your blood sugar level within its target range, there are several steps that people with diabetes can take to prevent foot complications.
To improve blood flow to the lower extremities, people with diabetes should walk as regularly as possible in shoes or sneakers that are:
- sturdy
- comfortable
- closed-toe
Exercising also reduces hypertension and keeps weight down, which is crucial. Another important part of preventive care is for your doctor to check your feet every visit and test them for touch sensation once per year.
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What Does Diabetes Look Like On Feet
Its rare, but people with diabetes can see blisters suddenly appear on their skin. You may see a large blister, a group of blisters, or both. The blisters tend to form on the hands, feet, legs, or forearms and look like the blisters that appear after a serious burn.
Keep Your Feet Dry To Reduce The Risk Of Infection
Make sure that drying your feet is part of your hygiene routine. The space between the toes is very airtight, says Tillett. Skin gets moist and breaks down, leading to infection. Prevent this by toweling off thoroughly after washing your feet and by removing wet or sweaty socks or shoes immediately. As mentioned previously, you can still use moisturizer to prevent dry, cracked skin just avoid putting it between your toes.
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