Diabetic patients generally face issues related to the foot. These types of issues can include various complications such as foot amputation, leg amputation, or the risk of the toe. Apart from this, people who have diabetes tend to have issues with lower limb amputation than those without diabetes. These foot complications can result in nerve damage as well as poor blood circulation in the feet. It tends to make your feet more vulnerable and can lead to various infections, ulcers, brittle bones, and deformities. Hence it is important to take care of your feet to prevent other possible diseases. Here are a few ways through which you can take care of your feet.
Avoid trimming calluses or corns
In diabetes, your feet are more vulnerable to the infection as the body cannot heal quickly. Hence trimming corns or calluses can create wounds that can allow harmful bacteria into your skin and cause the infection. Suppose you have diabetes and suffering from callus or corn. In that case, it is important to contact the experienced podiatrist as soon as possible as it could involve a basic treatment or surgery. Here the situation can get worse if you try to treat it at home.
Moisturize your feet
It is always recommended to keep your feet moisturized. Make sure to apply a thin layer of moisturizer on the top and bottom sides of your feet, especially during winters. During winters, your heels can get cracked, and the bacteria can easily transmit into your skin to cause further infection. This could be difficult, and the infection can take a lot of time to get heal. Make sure to avoid the area between the toes as the skin here does not get enough oxygen. Here if the skin gets moist at these spaces, then it can develop a further infection.
Inspect your feet
This would be the very basic step you would need to follow while taking care of your diabetic foot. Make sure to check your feet visually. People with diabetes also suffer from the nerve damage issue, which is known as peripheral neuropathy. This type of issue can cause numbness. Due to this, the person does not understand any feeling related to the cut, sore, or blister. This can be difficult for diabetes patients. Generally, with diabetes, the blood flow gets reduced, and your feet may feel a lack of oxygen as well as the required nutrients to heal it. Hence it is important to inspect your feet visually every day.
Wash feet regularly with warm water
Another therapy that can help you take care of your feet is washing them regularly with warm water. Generally, your feet tend to attract dirt and bacteria on a day-to-day basis. If you fail to keep your feet clean, the bacteria can easily penetrate your skin. Make sure to check the temperature of the water with your hands, as you might not be able to feel the heat. If your feet are suffering from oversaturated sores, then it can take a longer time to heal. Hence make sure not to soak your feet for a longer period. Once done with the rinse, then make sure to dry them properly to remove the moisture completely, especially between the toes.
Protect your feet from cold as well as from hot weather
As we discussed above, peripheral neuropathy can lead to numbness, and hence you won’t be able to feel any pain or temperature. Washing your feet with extreme heat or cold can do severe damage. Hence make sure not to dip your feet in too hot or too cold water.
Wear right size shoes
It is important to invest in a good pair of shoes which would have the right fitting. Apart from this, make sure to check the internal part of the shoes as well. Make sure to wear the right shoes along with socks. Apart from this, make sure to avoid walking barefoot.
Stay Active
Whether you have diabetes or any other disease, it is important to keep yourself active by engaging in certain exercises. It helps to keep the blood flowing into the feet. You can try various forms of exercise such as swimming, tai chi, cycling, or yoga.
