Living with diabetes brings many changes to your daily routine, from managing blood sugar to paying special attention to foot health. A lesser-known but important part of diabetic foot care is taking care of your toenails. Diabetics are at higher risk for toenail issues like infections, thickening, and other changes due to impaired blood flow and nerve function. Understanding how to care for your toenails can prevent complications and help keep your feet healthy.
Developing a non-healing wound can be one of the most serious and devastating complications for a diabetic patient. These wounds or open sores are also called diabetic ulcers, and they frequently occur on the foot. Diabetic foot ulcers are prone to infections, and this puts patients at a higher risk of hospitalization and need for surgery or amputation.
Making healthy food, checking your blood sugar, taking time to be active, keeping up with doctor’s appointments, and taking medicines are some of the things diabetic patients manage. However, through this busy schedule, the feet are the last thing to be remembered but daily diabetic foot care will help prevent diabetic foot complications.
People with diabetes experience foot problems often and are always in fear of the unknown, the worst being one in the reality of losing a foot, leg, or toe. Managing diabetes or glucose levels will keep your feet healthy.
Have you ever taken off your socks or shoes and saw blood, and had no idea how it happened? Well, 15 percent of patients with diabetes suffer from diabetic foot ulcers. A diabetic foot ulcer is an open injury or sore generally situated on the lower part of the foot. It starts from normal factors such as taking an extra-long walk or having a new pair of shoes. The ulcer starts as a small blister or callus on the foot, then the problem progresses.
It is common for people with diabetes to have foot problems. It is scarier when you think of losing a foot, toe, or leg especially when you know someone who has lost any limps to diabetes complications. However, with diabetic foot care, managing your glucose levels, and regular visits to a podiatrist for diabetics, chances of experiencing diabetic foot problems are reduced. Half of the diabetic patients experience nerve damage, mostly happening in their legs and feet.