How can we help?
Foot care amongst diabetics is incredibly important. Even small ulcers on the foot can represent a serious risk: they may heal extremely slowly and need rigorous treatment to cure. Foot ulcers affect as many as 1 out of every 10 diabetes sufferers, during the entirety of their condition. Ulcers can develop into serious lower body infections.
Diabetics must pay particular attention to their foot health for a number of reasons:
- Diabetes can lead to a loss of sensation in the feet (distal polyneuropathy), meaning that damage is more likely to go unnoticed.
- There can be changes to the muscle power in the leg, leading to changes in foot shape and high pressure areas.
- The skin can become dry (anhidrotic) due to autonomic nerve neuropathy. Dry skin is more likely to crack and create a portal of entry for infection.
- Diabetics are more likely to develop problems with their blood supply to the feet (due to calcification of arteries in the periphery).
Our Podiatrists can perform vascular, neurological and functional tests which will tell you your foot health status. It is important to have your feet checked regularly, and you should check your own feet daily if you are a diabetic. Podiatrists are experts at offloading pressure from areas of the foot that are at risk of ulceration.
A condition called diabetic neuropathy sometimes occurs over time. Commonly, this manifests itself as peripheral neuropathy, and usually affects the sensory nerves in the legs. If your nervous system is even slightly damaged, the extremities of the body can become numb. For this reason, you may not be able to feel foot problems until they have developed.
