5 Helpful Tips for Diabetic Foot Care

As your podiatrist in Oklahoma City, Dr. Darren Elenburg wants to make sure you understand how to care for your feet whether you have diabetes or not. Here are the top 5 tips we want to emphasize for proper diabetic foot care:

1. Inspect Your Feet Daily – Daily inspection is critical. Just like you learned to brush your teeth to prevent problems, checking your feet helps you prevent problems with them too.  Even the smallest wound or blister can cause trouble like infection or delayed healing.  Diabetic patients develop infections easier, so early treatment is the key!  By inspecting your feet daily, you will be able to notice any changes such as new calluses, infections, cracks in the skin, or wounds.  Because your feet can lose feeling due your diabetes, preventative inspection is critical.  If you can’t see the soles of your feet and between your toes, consider a hand held mirror or asking family to help.  Many toe, foot and leg amputations are preventable by simply identifying the problem early!
2. Wear shoes! Studies show that simply wearing shoes prevents falls and can prevent wounds on the feet.  Also, arch supports or custom orthotics can be inserted into some shoes for even better foot comfort.  Elenburg can help you. His office provides footwear that is frequently covered by your insurance.  Do you want your feet to feel great?  Talk with Dr. Elenburg about your footwear!
3. Cut Your Nails Carefully – If you have difficulty with cutting your toenails, we can help. Accidentally cutting the skin or trying to dig out ingrown nails your-self may lead to infection.  By properly cutting your nails you can prevent problems.  If your nails are discolored, you may have a fungal infection which is treatable.  Do your fingernails look the same as your toenails?  If not, discuss this with Dr. Elenburg!
4. Never Treat Corns or Calluses Yourself – Although it is very tempting to shave off that corn or callus, it is easy to create problems doing it yourself. Infection and wounds are common complications of calluses.  Treating the area safely is our priority.  Elenburg can get to it easily, offer treatment options to effectively manage it and also discuss options that may resolve it for good.  Don’t risk your foot by trying to do it yourself – get professional help.
5. Take Care of Your Diabetes – This tip may seem like an obvious one, but we cannot reiterate this enough: keeping the blood sugar normal helps prevent foot troubles as well as protect your eyes and kidneys.  When the blood sugar is too high, your foot problems will not heal very well.
6. Wash Your Feet in Lukewarm Water – When the feeling in your feet is not normal, it is easy to burn them with hot water. By the time if feels warm, it may be too hot.  Test the water with your hands first.

 

By following these guidelines laid out by our foot doctor in Oklahoma City, we hope that you will continue to have healthy feet.  If you have diabetes, constant care of your feet is very important to prevent amputation.  Diabetes is the #1 reason for leg amputation.  Remember to check for blisters, wounds, bruises, calluses, red areas over joints, and nail problems. Even the smallest injury can lead to more severe issues.  As your Oklahoma City Podiatrist at Foot & Ankle Center of Oklahoma, Dr. Elenburg practices a proactive approach to foot care to keep his patients healthy and active!

 

If you have diabetes, do you understand how to properly care for your feet? If not, please contact our office in Oklahoma City, OK. Whether you have diabetes or heel pain in Oklahoma City, we are available to meet your foot and ankle health care needs at Foot & Ankle Center of Oklahoma.