Diabetes & Foot Care

Diabetes is a chronic disease which can affect every organ of the body, including our feet.

Diabetes can have a number of important effects on the feet making the feet high risk in compromised diabetic patients.

Prevention is the best cure when it comes to caring for your feet with diabetes and regular podiatry visits are essential.

Diabetic Foot Assessment - Viewbank Podiatry

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a complex condition where the body no longer produces or produces insufficient quantities of insulin, resulting in increased sugar (glucose) levels in the blood stream. This can have a number of adverse effects on the feet and it is why preventative foot care is important for all patients who suffer from diabetes. There are two types of diabetes:

TYPE 1 DIABETES

Occurs in people where the pancreas fails to produce any insulin.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Is the most common form and occurs when the pancreas can still produce insulin but it does not produce enough or it is ineffective.

Why is the foot of great concern
in people who have diabetes?

Diabetes damages the nerves:

Diabetes damages the nerves, leading to peripheral neuropathy. This means that the nerve fibres and receptors are damaged leading to a loss of sensation.

If you cut yourself you may not be able to feel any pain and not know you have an injured foot which can become infected easily. It some cases the foot can become gangrene.

Diabetes affects vascular circulation:

Diabetes affects your circulation from your heart through to all the blood vessels that lead to your feet. The feet are the furthest away from your heart and don’t always get blood flow with sufficient oxygen and nutrients. Therefore healing of wound can be slow or impaired.

Diabetes affects the joints:

Diabetes affects the joints by rendering the collagen and other soft tissues stiff and rigid. This can cause pressure areas on the feet that can ultimately ulcerate because you can’t feel the pressure and unable to heal the pressure sores.

There is also a condition called Charcot foot. This condition can occur in people with diabetes. The foot completely collapses causing pain and major deformity of the foot.

How often should I see
a Podiatrist if I have diabetes?

People who suffer from diabetes should see a podiatrist as soon as they are diagnosed. An initial diabetes foot check will help determine how often you should visit a podiatrist for diabetic foot care and prevention of diabetic foot problems. Remember your feet are more at risk with diabetes and prevention is the best cure, making a podiatrist an integral member of your diabetes health care.

National Diabetes Health Care Guidelines recommend people
with diabetes have their feet checked by a podiatrist at least
every 12 months.

Don’t neglect your feet
get a diabetes foot check

A diabetes foot check with one of our podiatrists takes only 30 minutes. It involves a thorough assessment of your diabetic feet and formulation of a preventative treatment plan. The foot check involves testing your sensation and circulation status as well as looking for other potential risk factors.

Firstly our podiatrists will assess your foot sensation and see if your feet still have enough “protective” sensation to detect injury.

Secondly our podiatrists will check your foot arteries and circulation using a Doppler. The Doppler gives an audible signal and waveform, indicating how strong the blood flow is through your arteries. These results can be recorded and retested every 12 months. The results of these tests will tell our podiatrists if your diabetic feet are classified low risk or high risk.

Following these tests our podiatrists will also thoroughly check the rest of your feet to look for any other potential foot risk factors or pressure areas.

Prevention of diabetic
foot problems

Having diabetes can increase your risk of foot problems. Prevention is vital to help prevent more serious foot problems like ulceration, infection and amputation from occurring. If you suffer from diabetes then you should look after your feet by doing the following:

Inspect your feet daily for any visual signs of problems.
Protect your feet from injury. This includes good fitting footwear.
Make an appointment with one of our podiatrists immediately if something doesn’t look right.
Have an annual diabetes foot check with one of our podiatrists to determine if your feet are at risk.

Diabetes and Orthotics

A major problem with diabetic feet can be foot ulcers. These are caused by excess pressure on a bony area of the foot and diabetics with reduced sensation and circulation will be more at risk. Pressure ulcers left untreated can progress to more serious problems like infection and even amputation. Foot orthotics can help diabetic feet by helping to reduce excess pressure areas.

For a thorough Diabetes Assessment, contact our clinic on (03) 94583911 or book online.