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Diabetes and Regular Foot Care: The Key to Healthy Feet

The Key to Healthy Feet

Your whole body is interconnected. Injuries in one body part can negatively impact the function of a seemingly unrelated place, and diseases that affect specific systems can still have side effects in other tissues and organs. This is certainly the case for diabetes. This systemic condition has side effects that can profoundly impact the feet, so investing in good diabetic foot care is important for your health.

Not Optional for Good Health

The fluctuating blood sugar levels you develop in diabetes damages your blood vessels and nerves, impairing your circulation, immune system, and ability to feel. This tends to impact your extremities first, since they are the furthest from your heart and already prone to poor blood flow. As a result, you’re more susceptible to sustaining small injuries and have a harder time recovering from them. You’re also less likely to feel issues with your lower limbs and so fail to treat them appropriately. That, in turn, can allow otherwise small problems, like blisters, to deteriorate into ulcers. These more complicated issues can eventually lead to life-threatening infections if they are not treated soon enough.

Once the damage has been done to your blood vessels and nerves, it isn’t reversible. The complications that result from these issues, however, are preventable. That’s where diabetic foot care plays a vital role. By investing in your limb health before you develop problems, you can catch issues early and avoid potentially serious conditions.

Investing in Care

You need to both care for your feet at home and have your lower limbs checked regularly by our team of specialists at West Lawn Podiatry Associates. Dr. Paul C. LaFata and our staff will check your feet for negative changes from diabetes, as well as help you establish good home care habits. That way we can help you catch and manage problems that arise from the disease before they deteriorate and limit your mobility.

Periodic exams with our team help monitor the larger effects of the disease that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Diabetic neuropathy and basic biomechanical issues can deteriorate into more serious problems, so we will check for these. If you need help with your foot hygiene, we can properly trim your toenails and take care of corns and calluses as well.

Daily diabetic foot care is everything you do at home to keep your feet clean and healthy. This includes washing and drying them thoroughly. Keep your skin moisturized and your nails trimmed as well. Inspect your feet daily for minor injuries or unusual changes, too. Bruises, bumps, skin or nail discolorations, changes in foot temperature, and pain can all be symptoms of serious problems. Cuts, blisters, and nail injuries may all provide openings for infections. Checking your feet for these things every day is the best method for catching complications before they have a chance to cause serious damage.

You need your feet to stay healthy and strong to maintain your independence. Though it takes some effort when you’re living with diabetes, it is possible. Don’t take your feet for granted. If you need help establishing good diabetic foot care habits, contact Dr. Paul C. LaFata at West Lawn Podiatry Associates, serving the Reading and West Lawn, PA, communities. You can call (610) 678-4581 or submit a request through our website to reach us.