Caring your feet... Everyday!!

10 tips about care of feet for diabetes patients

They say "Prevention's better than cure",  but I would say prevention is the only cure for diabetic foot.

Control Blood Sugar

• Ask your doctor about your pre/post meal blood sugar targets.
• Adhere to diet, Excercise regularly.
• Take medicines on time.

• Tells you about long term control.
• Ask your doctor when to check.

Keeping sugars under control:

Caring for your feet begins with taking care of your diabetes. Talk to your doctor about your diabetes targets.

Proper blood sugar control means fewer chances of nerve damage and so less foot problems. Talk to your doctor about your targets.

Check your feet daily:

Checking your feet with mirror

• Use a mirror.
• Look for any wound, redness or infection.
• These may not be painful if you have nerve damage due to diabetes.

Seperate the toes and look for any fungus infection.

• Dry the feet thoroughly with a towel.
• Take special care to dry between your toes.

• Apply petroleum jelly or Vaseline if skin is dry or cracked.
• Don't apply between the toes..
• Don't use vegetable oil.

• Trim them straight across.
• Blunt them with a emery board.

• Walking on hot pavements can lead to blisters.
• You may not notice until it's too late due to lack of pain sensation.

You can detect any minor problems like redness, nail infections, injury by thorns etc. much before it escalates into a full blown problem. This is so because you may not feel any pain due to nerve damage caused by diabetes.

Protect your feet from hot and cold:

Wear shoes at the beach, on hot pavements etc. Avoid walking in hot sun in places like temples where you cannot use footwear. Don't put your feet into hot water. Test it before hand  just as you would before bathing a baby. Avoid hot water bottles, heating pads, or electric blankets. You can burn your feet without realizing it. Don't put your feet on the engine cover sitting at front seat of bus to avoid radiator burns.

Maintain blood flow to your legs:

Put your feet up when sitting. Move your toes and ankles periodically up and down. Don't cross your legs for long periods of time. Drink plenty of water when travelling. Avoid smoking / tobacco in any form.

Get your feet out of your shoes every hour or two so that your feet can breathe too:

Tight shoes suffocate and choke your legs by preventing flow of air and blood. The trapped moisture may also lead to fungal infections, maceration and peeling of skin.

Ask your doctor about need for special diabetic footwear:

Avoid Hawai Chappals

• They don't provide back support.
• Easily slip off the feet while walking
• Can lead to deformed feet in presence of nerve damage.

• They provide proper support while walking.
• Soft inner portion prevents foot injury.

Proper diabetic footwear can help prevent injuries to your feet, helps in healing any injuries that may have already occurred. They wear out instead of wearing out your precious feet.