Foot care tips for diabetics

Hello - my name is Carl and I’m a podiatrist here at Back In Motion Bribie Island.

Podiatry is a field of healthcare devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot.

As you may know - if you are suffering from diabetes it is very important to look after your feet. Here are a few tips and a bit of knowledge to maintain those happy feet.

Why is it so important to look after your feet as a diabetic?

Diabetes affects your blood glucose levels.

As your feet are the furthest away from your heart and that vital blood flow they are one of the areas of the body that is effected the most by diabetes.

The way it can affect your feet are:

• Poor circulation
• Hampered healing
• Thin skin
• Change in foot shape
• Loss of feeling including numbness
• Nerve pain
• Cramps

What can you do look after your feet?

The most important thing you can do is to control your diabetes whether it is through diet or medication or a combination of both. Maintaining that healthy lifestyle through exercise and diet helps massively. Aim to get your blood glucose levels to a controlled level.

The most important thing you can do regarding your feet is to check them daily.  

 What are you looking out for?

• Unusual swelling
• Ulcers
• In-growing toe nails
• Cuts or bruises
• Broken skin in between toes
• Corns or callus build ups
• Fissures and cracks in the skin
• Blisters

Low-risk feet have normal sensation and good blood flow

If you do find an injury: wash it with salt water, dry the area, apply an antiseptic ointment such as betadine (dry sprays work best), and cover with a dry dressing. If you find you have no improvement after 24 hours seek a health care professional like a podiatrist or your local practice nurse.

High-risk feet have a history of ulcers, loss of sensation, poor circulation and change of foot shape  

If during your daily foot check-up, you find any problems noted above book in to see your healthcare professional immediately.

Foot care at home

Try and moisture your feet daily especially if you have dry skin or cracks present. The more the moisturiser soaks in to the skin the better.

High-percent urea creams have proven to be beneficial. Your podiatrist or local pharmacist can provide advice on the best urea creams to use.

Cut your nails straight across and don’t go digging into those corners, if you feel you have an ingrowing toe nail then book for an appointment, it isn’t worth causing more trauma to the area.

Avoid using any over-the-counter acid treatments such as corn plasters as they can create wounds.

Further reading: Do I have plantar fasciitis?

Footwear for people with diabetes

Try and wear comfortable and supportive shoes with a fastening device (laces or straps), plenty of room at the toe box and a supportive frame that you cannot bend in half. 

Have a feel inside the shoes before you purchase to make sure there are no seams inside that could cause pressure. You should have about half an inch at the front of the shoe spare. Make sure to check your shoes for foreign objects before putting them on.

There are many footwear brands now out there that are supportive and more stylish then there have been in the past including supportive sandals and thongs. We have a number of styles and types of footwear at the practice. 

Yearly podiatry visit

It is important as a diabetic to have a vascular and a neurological assessment every year. Here at Back In Motion Bribie Island, our assessment also includes routine care such as nails, hard skin, cracks, as well as education to help with footcare at home.

Book your appointment at Back In Motion Bribie Island by calling 3408 6608 or book online.

Foot shape and the way you walk

Since having diabetes one or more of your feet may have changed shape, so it is important to accommodate that when purchasing shoes, in severe cases you may need medical grade footwear.

If you have an abnormal gait pattern such as excessively pronating then often you are overloading and increasing pressure to certain areas of the foot which may lead to corns, callus build up and at worse ulceration.

Here at Back in Motion we provide a free gait analysis to check the way you are walking and if a problem is present we have numerous options available to you from off the shelf orthoses to fully custom orthotics created using a 3-D scan of your foot.

I hope that information helped and if you have any problems noted above just book in and we can have a look at it for you.

If you are valid for Medicare or are DVA registered get a referral from your GP. Podiatry is also covered on many health insurance plans.

Thanks for taking the time to read this - Carl

Author

Carl Bedard - AHPRA registered Podiatrist at Back In Motion Bribie Island

Carl was born and raised in Canada and had extensive experience in private practice in the UK before relocating to Queensland to join the team at Bribie Island. Whether it is for foot health advice, a persistent ingrown toenail or you're just struggling to reach your feet and need general footcare, Carl is available to do a thorough treatment.