Long-Term Diabetic Foot Care

If you are currently living with diabetes, then there is no time too soon to begin focusing on your foot care.

Even if your feet feel fine right now, managing diabetes is a life-long marathon. The effects of diabetes can cause progressively worse problems over time, and starting to preventatively handle these issues now will greatly increase your chances of entering the future with greater comfort and mobility.

At Michigan Foot & Ankle Specialists, we are equipped to help diabetic patients maintain the health of their feet throughout their lives, both with preventative and direct care. But you are key to your own care as well.

Why Diabetic Foot Care Is So Important

Diabetic foot care should always start immediately because diabetes has a relentless way of making things slowly worse over time.

Much like the proverbial frog in a cooking pot, problems can develop so slowly that they are almost imperceptible; especially in an area such as the feet.

Diabetes can affect the feet in two very problematic ways:

First, the complications of diabetes can result in inhibited circulation throughout the body, and the feet tend to feel the effects of this first and most severely. With reduced blood flow comes a reduced capacity for healing. Cuts and other injuries to the feet may take more time to heal, or may not heal without special attention.

Second, diabetes can also cause damage to nerves within the feet. As nerves lose more of their ability to transmit signals effectively, it results in symptoms such as pain, tingling, and numbness.

The numbness is especially concerning, as you may not feel when an injury has occurred to your feet. Combine this with slower healing, and you can end up walking on long-lasting injuries. These injuries can grow worse with time as you continue to bear weight on the area, turning into ulcers and highly increasing risk of infection.

But dire situations such as these can be largely prevented with good management and preventative care.

What Diabetic Foot Care Consists Of

The best diabetic foot care plan includes both professional assistance and personal commitment.

The personal commitment is not as difficult as it might seem. The best thing you can do for yourself, in fact, takes just a couple minutes each day: check over your feet for signs of trouble daily.

By just taking a few moments before bed or after your shower to look over your feet, you are much more likely to catch cuts, infections, and other problems early. Even if your feet feel great now, making this a habit ensures you are more than ready if things ever become worse.

When you see something wrong, give us a call. We can provide you advice or ask you to come in for a closer look and care. And by keeping a record of issues you find, that will help us recommend better changes and approaches for more effective care.

Many of the treatments and services we provide for diabetic patients include:

  • Diabetic screening tests. Including ABI testing for circulation.
  • Ordering and fitting of diabetic shoes, which are designed to provide as much comfort and as little irritation to the feet as possible. We recommend new diabetic footwear on a yearly basis in most cases.
  • Prescription of custom orthotics for patients who may need excess weight or pressure distributed away from trouble areas.
  • Long-term monitoring of your foot and ankle health, tracking trends and addressing problems that might otherwise be overlooked.

For a Healthy, Mobile Tomorrow

Living with diabetes can demand a lot from someone, but attention to diabetic foot care should not be left by the wayside. We can work with you to create a comfortable, comprehensive approach to your foot care that will work well as part of your comprehensive diabetes management.

Schedule an appointment at our Dearborn office by calling (313) 582-6222, or fill out our online contact form to reach out to us.

GET IN TOUCH

ADDRESS

7243 Chase Rd.

Dearborn, MI 48126

PHONE

(313) 582-6222

HOURS

Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm

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