Important Diabetic Foot Care
Diabetic foot care is an important routine of a diabetic patients daily life. Many diabetics suffer complications of diabetes that can lead to foot ulcers and amputation of the feet.
The first step and perhaps the most important part of daily diabetic foot care is to thoroughly inspect the feet. The diabetic patient should look for any sores and signs of infection like redness or discharge. A diabetic patient may have nerve damage, called diabetic neuropathy, which makes sores and injuries to the feet more difficult to feel.
Sores can go undetected unless the diabetic patient sees the sore by inspecting the feet. An untreated sore can become infected.
Due to the poor circulation that many diabetic patients have, they have a difficult time fighting off infection. A sore that is not medically treated has a higher than normal risk of becoming infected. This infection could become serious and lead to gangrene.
As soon as a diabetic patient notices a sore on the foot, the diabetic patient should seek immediate medical attention. Neglecting to get treatment increases the risk for infection and amputation.
The diabetic patient should also wash their feet in warm water daily. The feet should be dried completely after washing including between the toes.
If there is dry skin on the feet, the skin could crack and cause sores. The sores can become infected. Dry skin on the feet should be treated with moisturizer, but moisturizer should never be applied between the toes.
If the diabetic patient notices corns or warts on the feet, the diabetic should avoid using over the counter wart or corn removers. Corns and warts need to be treated by a doctor. While some diabetes references say that it is okay for a diabetic patient to gently file any calluses present, other resources say that diabetic patients should seek medical treatment for calluses.
The toenails should never be cut too short as this could lead to ingrown toenails. The sores caused by ingrown toenails could become infected.