Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that is affecting more and more people worldwide every day. Without proper care for your feet, you are at risk of a number of life-changing foot problems.
A Diabetes Foot Health Review with the Podiatrists at Complete Podiatry is the first step to understanding how your diabetes is affecting your feet and what you can do to prevent problems developing with your feet.
We can help you understand the risks of diabetes.
Diabetes is basically, a condition where there is too much sugar in your blood. This excess sugar can go on to cause massive changes and damage to many very important parts of your body including your eyes, heart, kidneys, nerves, circulation and feet.
There are a number of reasons a person may go on to develop diabetes including family history, pregnancy with a large baby, genetic predisposition, reduced activity levels and a poor diet high in sugary foods.
More and more people are developing diabetes every day. In Australia alone:
- Around 1.8 million people have diabetes
- 280 people develop diabetes every day (That's one person every five minutes)
- 2.4 million people are affected by diabetes every day(people with diabetes, their family, friends and work colleagues)
- Total cost of impact = $14.6 billion per year
As Podiatrists, we understand the importance of diabetes on foot health and how it can significantly impact people's health and livelihood as well as their ability to live a long, amazing life.
Knowing your risks helps you to make better choices.
Just because you have diabetes does not mean you are going to develop foot problems. Certain factors place you more at risk of developing foot problems in the presence of diabetes. Some of these factors include:
- Poor blood sugar control
- Lack of exercise
- Poor diet
- Obesity
- Footwear choices
- Foot structure and function
- General health
- Family history
When a new client with diabetes comes to one of our Podiatry Clinics, the first this we do is perform a thorough diabetes assessment to determine how much risk they have of developing foot problems.
This assessment includes:
- Background and history taking
- Circulation testing
- Nerve testing
- Skin assessment
- Nail assessment
- Footwear review
- Biomecanical assesment
- Gait analysis
Once this assessment is complete, our Podiatrists will develop a Complete management plan outlining your risk of foot health problems and the personalised steps you need to take to minimise these risks to help you build an amazing life from the feet up.
Looking after your feet is simple once you know what to do.
When you have diabetes, taking care of your feet is vital.
When you have diabetes, even a simple thing like a scratch from a rose thorn in the garden could develop into a major foot wound or infection. As Podiatrists, we have seen far too many people develop major medical foot problems because a minor problem went unnoticed or was ignored.
The first and most important thing you need to help fix your foot pain is to get the right diagnosis. Our team of Podiatrists are experts at diagnosing and treating the many different causes of foot pain including:
- Look after your sugar levels
- Do a daily foot check
- Keep your skin clean and healthy
- Take care of your nails properly
- Wear the right shoes (for you)
- Have a regular check-up
Once you commit to doing these 6 simple things every day, the risks of you developing significant foot problems will reduce considerably.