Top 5 Rules for Diabetic Foot Care
If you want to be on Santa’s “nice” list and get the gifts you’re hoping for, you have to follow the rules. Anyone can check out claus.com for the Top 10 Ways to Make the Nice List—including caroling, good manners, and donating food and blankets to local charities—to see how they are doing. If you have diabetes, healthy feet may be high on your wish list. Here are five top rules for diabetic foot care to help you get there:
Rule #1: Keep them clean and dry. This helps get rid of bacteria and fight off infections, so wash and dry them every day and leave shoes off now and then to air them out.
Rule #2: Do a daily foot check. You are looking for sores, blisters, suspicious redness, warmth—anything that could be the start of an ulcer or indicate structural problems within your foot. Don’t forget to check in between your toes.
Rule #3: Don’t try to deal with sores or injuries on your own. It is so easy for a diabetic foot to become infected and so hard for it to heal, so make sure to come to our office for sterile, professional treatment of foot wounds.
Rule #4: Wear foot protection. This protects the skin on your feet from burns (including from hot sand or pavement), cuts, infections, and the like. Make sure the socks and shoes themselves don’t harm you because of awkward seams, friction points, or non-breathable materials.
Rule #5: Control your blood sugar. Since so many of the problems with diabetic feet result from complications of the disease like poor circulation or nerve damage, the best thing you can do is to keep your blood glucose at a healthy level to stave off those conditions. Eat the right foods and get enough exercise to keep your weight down and your glucose and cholesterol levels in range.
These are a few of the most important things you can do. There are many other ways to head off trouble in diabetic feet. Once is to have regular medical foot exams—at least once a year, even if you aren’t yet experiencing any problems. Contact Gulf South Foot & Ankle, LLC in Metairie, LA, and our expert staff can evaluate your feet and help keep them safe and healthy. Call our office at (504) 708-4810 or request your appointment here on our website.