Why You Should See A Podiatrist Regularly for Diabetic Care
Diabetes comes with many other stemming problems. One of the most dangerous of them is foot problems. Did you know that every 20 seconds, a limb is lost to diabetes? That’s scary, isn’t it? When you have diabetes, you run the risk of foot problems and complications. These issues usually occur because of nerve damage or neuropathy in the feet and toes.
When you have neuropathy in your feet, you lose the ability to feel pain over time. This makes it difficult to know the true condition of your foot’s health. Small cuts and wounds are easy to overlook because of this and can turn pretty nasty when overlooked for long periods of time. Your small cut can very easily turn into a foot ulcer if left ignored.
This is where podiatrists come in! Podiatrists can help you take care of and protect your feet to prevent disastrous issues like the above. It’s very important to see a podiatrist regularly when you have diabetes. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so regular visits to a podiatrist can really prevent your feet from suffering in the long term because of diabetes. If you have diabetes, you’ll want to go in for diabetic care treatment in Little Chalfont or diabetic care in Amersham to cut big issues like the above at the root.
How Do Podiatrists Help People With Diabetes?
Podiatry is a very important yet often overlooked segment of diabetic care in Amersham. Podiatrists play an integral role in your diabetes health care team. They are trained specifically to assess nerve damage in your feet and help you come up with treatment and prevention plans. They also identify foot health risks specific to you!
Diabetes can truly affect your feet in so many ways, which is why it’s important to see a Podiatrist at least once a year to address these issues related to diabetes.
What Are The Common Foot Problems People With Diabetes Face?
As we said earlier, there are a number of risks diabetes brings to your feet’ health. If you have diabetes, you run the risk of experiencing a number of foot problems, including:
- Nerve Damage: You may go through neuropathy (or simply put, nerve damage). This causes pain and often numbness in your feet. This can lead to more severe problems in the future, like the complete loss of feeling in your feet and toes. When this occurs, small cuts and injuries go unnoticed and often stem from much larger and more dangerous health issues.
- Foot Ulcers: These are wounds that can develop on your feet and/or toes. Foot ulcers occur on your feet when the tissue on the affected part of your foot is broken down to make an open wound. They can grow much larger and very easily get infected. Treatment for foot ulcers is often very expensive and lengthy, which is why it’s best to prevent them. Foot ulcers can also lead to amputation if not treated properly and timely.
- Charcot Foot: When you have neuropathy in your feet, it can also lead to the bones in your feet being weakened. Once these bones weaken, they can even fracture and result in foot deformities.
- Amputations: In some cases, foot ulcers and open wounds reach a stage where they can’t be treated and repaired. When this is the case, you may require amputation.
These are a handful of issues you can face with your feet due to diabetes. In reality, there are many more complications you can experience resulting from diabetes. This is why it’s integral to seek diabetic care treatment in Little Chalfont or Amersham. A podiatrist will be able to determine risk factors specific to you, and tell you what to look out for and how you can prevent these issues from occurring.
What To Talk To Your Podiatrist About
If you have diabetes and are considering seeing a podiatrist, good move! You absolutely need to see a podiatrist on a regular to make sure your feet stay healthy. When visiting a podiatrist for your diabetes, make sure you are prepared with information on your medical history. Also try to jot down some questions you may have, including concerns about care. It’s always best to be completely comprehensive about your questions so you get all your doubts cleared. When visiting a podiatrist for diabetic care treatment in Amersham, you’ll want to discuss the following:
- Neuropathy: If you find yourself experiencing symptoms of neuropathy or nerve damage, tell your podiatrist and they’ll give you a monofilament test or another very detailed test for nerve damage. This way, you’ll be able to understand whether you have nerve damage or not, how to prevent it or keep it from spreading, and all the other issues that come with nerve damage.
- Foot Exams: Your podiatrist will give you a proper examination for your feet. They’ll even show you how you can go about doing this at home and what you’ll have to look out for.
- Temperature Monitoring: Keeping your feet in optimal temperature is integral when you have diabetes. Temperature monitoring has been clinically proven to prevent foot ulcers and the risk of amputation significantly. Your podiatrist will show you how you can incorporate temperature monitoring in your everyday routine. They’ll even be able to suggest diabetic socks that are ideal for your specific needs.
- Foot Care: Your podiatrist will also be able to tell you how to go about your foot care routine. They’ll teach you how you can protect your feet everyday and maintain proper foot health to prevent any future issues from developing.
Why You Should Seek Diabetic Care in Amersham
When you have diabetes and you don’t make regular visits to your podiatrist, it can lead to disastrous complications. It can often lead to conditions that are limb-threatening and require amputation. If you have diabetes, you need to take extra care of your feet and protect yourself from infection so you don’t have to suffer the consequences later.
Diabetes leads to a significant raise of blood sugar. These high levels of sugar can damage the nerves in your feet and cause peripheral neuropathy. This, combined with the characteristic poor circulation in diabetic patients can lead to slower healing and increase your chances of infection. When you have nerve damage, you lose sensation in your feet. You won’t be able to feel if your shoes are fitting your right, and this can lead to many other foot complications. This loss of feeling can also make you not realize if you have a blister or a small cut on your foot, which can often lead to bigger issues like foot ulcers. Left untreated, these seemingly small conditions can become way worse and affect your feet terribly.
It’s important to practice regular foot care if you have diabetes. You must wash your feet daily, and check for blisters and small cuts. You need to dry both your feet thoroughly and pay close attention to the spaces between your toes to prevent fungal infections.
If you suffer from diabetes and you notice you have sores on your feet, visit a podiatrist immediately! If left untreated, these sores can become infected and lead to gangrene or even the need for amputation.
Based on statistics, most amputations caused by diabetes could have been easily prevented with proper and regular foot care. This is why it’s absolutely integral to make regular visits to a podiatrist for diabetic care treatment in Little Chalfont.
Conclusion
Now that you know of the various foot care risks that come with diabetes, you probably want to visit the nearest podiatrist. If you’re looking for diabetic care in Amersham or diabetic care treatment in Little Chalfont, you can book an appointment with Bucks Foot Clinic. We have trained professionals who’ll be able to help you with all things foot-related!
Please call us on 0800 107 3290 / 077 99 122 099 Or contact us now
