Diabetic Foot

Being a diabetic, there is a lot you need to do to manage your blood sugar levels, which includes your diet, health conditions, medications, doctor’s appointments, and your feet as well! If you have diabetes, keeping your feet in check is mandatory. Even a small cut can cause severe foot problems that won’t heal for days with high blood sugar levels.

Diabetic-related foot problems can cause numbness in your feet which might not allow you to feel sores, cuts, blisters, etc. These undetected wounds can lead to infections making a recovery more complicated. Read on to find out more about diabetic foot and its causes.Diabetic foot is avoidable if you take care of your feet every day and get them checked if you notice any of these symptoms

1. Being a diabetic, there is a lot you need to do to manage your blood sugar levels, which includes your diet, health conditions, medications, doctor’s appointments, and your feet as well! If you have diabetes, keeping your feet in check is mandatory. Even a small cut can cause severe foot problems that won’t heal for days with high blood sugar levels.
2. Diabetic-related foot problems can cause numbness in your feet which might not allow you to feel sores, cuts, blisters, etc. These undetected wounds can lead to infections making a recovery more complicated. Read on to find out more about diabetic foot and its causes.Diabetic foot is avoidable if you take care of your feet every day and get them checked if you notice any of these symptoms

1. Long-term high blood sugar levels can cause nerve damage in your body, especially your hands and feet leading to diabetic foot. 
2. Here are some other causes of diabetic-related foot conditions that you need to be aware of:
3. Dry skin of the feet can cause cracks which can become severe cuts because of high blood sugar levels.
4. Being overweight can put pressure on the nerves and intensify the existing nerve damage in the body due to diabetes. Excess weight can also contribute to high blood sugar levels, ultimately initiating foot-related problems.
5. Leaving your feet wet for a long time, especially with wet socks and shoes, can cause fungus-related sores in your feet if you have diabetes.
6. Fungal infection of nails can also lead to diabetic foot-related problems.
7. Blisters on the feet because of the weather or other health conditions can also lead to diabetic foot.

Diabetes can lead to nerve damage in your body. Loss of nerve sensation due to diabetes is also called neuropathy which can occur throughout the body but is most common in the feet and legs. You may lose all the sensation and feeling in your feet. Due to this, you might not notice any wound or cut that you get on your feet. This can cause the damages  in your feet to go unnoticed, worsening the infection in the affected area.

Besides neuropathy, diabetes can also hamper the blood flow in your body parts, such as the feet and legs. This can lead to the development of peripheral artery diseases (PAD). In this situation, your legs and feet might not get the required blood flow to keep functioning properly due to blockage in arteries or narrowing of arteries. This can lead to a diabetes-related infection that does not heal easily and even ulcers.

 

The signs of the various diabetic-related foot problems might include the following:

1. Darkening of the skin on and around the affected area.
2. You might experience hair loss around the affected area as well. 
3. There may be certain pain or swelling around the area due to water retention or just the damage.
4. Tingling sensation in the affected area due to nerve damage.
5. Loss of sensation in the affected area does not allow you to feel any wounds, cuts, temperature, etc.
6. Redness is also pretty common.
7. You may also notice a foul smell, discharge of fluid or pus, and several changes in the skin, such as blisters, cuts, and skin peeling, especially around the toenails.
8. Skin discolouration
9. Dry cracks in the skin
10. Corns or calluses
11. Open sores on the feet might take a lot of time to heal.
12. Infection around the toenails caused due to fungus
13. If you find any of these symptoms, even if there is no visible symptom, it is best to consult a doctor to be sure if it is because of your diabetic condition or something else.

 

Diabetic foot can also cause many other complications starting from a small wound to complicated infections.

1. Skin and bone infections can start from nerve damage or a small cut and then turn into wounds. 
2. Abscess infections can eat into bones or tissues around the bones, creating a pocket of pus. The only treatment that is pretty common is to drain the abscess. However, if the pus goes deeper into the skin, removing tissue or some bone might also be required.
3. Deformities are also possible because such wounds in the foot can weaken the muscles leading to other conditions such as prominent metatarsal heads, pes cavus, claw feet, hammertoes, and many more. 
4. Diabetes related foot problems can also cause gangrene that affects the blood vessels in the feet. This might lead to the particular body part’s tissue to die. Removal of the affected area with surgery is the only option.
5. Diabetes related foot problems can also weaken the bones on your feet, leading to Charcot foot, which means the shape of the bones in your feet can change. 
6. Amputation is another complication associated with diabetic related foot problems, which can hamper blood flow to the nerves leading to foot injuries that can turn into an infection, causing an abscess. 

If you have diabetes and find any foot related issue, it is possible that it is related to your diabetic condition. It is advisable to see your doctor and get the following done:

1. Ask about your symptoms and see if your blood sugar level is under control.
2. Examine your legs, feet, and toes.
3. Check for any signs of infection such as discolouration, discharge, swelling, warmth, etc.
4. Touch the toes, legs, and feet for numbness with proper tools, if any.
5. If required, your doctor might also ask you to go for an x-ray or MRI to see if there is an internal issue related to bone damage due to diabetes.
6. Keep your blood sugar levels in check every few days. 
7. It is very important to keep your feet moisturized to avoid dry skin that can lead to cracks in the feet. 
8. Do not soak your feet for way too long in the water. It is also important to keep in check that your feet are not wet all the time. Keep them dry and clean, especially between the toes.
9. If you wish your feet, wash them in warm water using mild soap.
10. Keep your feet in check for calluses, blisters, sores, redness, and any other problems

To be sure that your foot-related problem does not go out of hand, here are some things that you should keep in check and immediately visit your health care provider if you find any:

1. If you have a cut or a blister in your feet and it has not healed or shown any signs of healing
2. Suppose you find a callus with dried blood inside of it. That can be one of the first signs of a wound that is probably under the callus.
3. Suppose the skin on your foot has become painful, red, and warm. This can be a sign of possible infection.
4. If you have had a skin infection that has now become black and smelly, then you might have gangrene which you need to get checked.
5. Loss of sense of touch or feeling of hot and cold 
6. Loss of hair in your feet, toes, and lower legs can also be a sign.
7. Thickened and yellow toenails
8. Dry and cracked skin on your feet, especially your ankles
9. Cramping or pain in your calves, thighs, and buttocks.
10. Change in the shape of your feet over time
11. Fungus infection between your toes or your nails

Treatment for Diabetic Foot

There are several schools of treatment when it comes to diabetic foot.

Medications

If you have a treatable infection that has not spread much, your doctor might provide you with antibiotics to cure the infection. You may also get some painkillers to get rid of the pain till the infection completely goes away. 

Surgery

If the infection has damaged a part of your feet completely, then that part might need removal so that the infection does not spread further. In the case of nerve damage also, if a part of your feet has given up completely, then surgery might be the only option.

Measures and Management

If the symptoms that you are feeling in your feet are only partially hampering your feet, then they can be resolved if you take measures to manage your blood sugar levels. That way, your foot related problems might get better.

 

1. The first and the most important thing to remember is that most diabetic-related foot problems occur only because your blood sugar levels are off the chart. So, keeping them in check is the first step to preventing diabetic foot.
2. Check your feet every day to see if there are any major symptoms so that early recognition of symptoms can help you get early treatment.
3. Keep your toenails trimmed and in shape.
4. The blood flow to your feet should be adequate, and it can be taken care of by staying active, wiggling your feet and toes every few hours, walking, swimming, keeping your feet elevated while sitting, etc.
5. Keep the space between your toes dry by putting talcum powder.
6. Make sure you always have slippers on. If you wear shoes, don’t wear them without a pair of socks.
7. Do not cut calluses or corn.

People with diabetes are at high risk of developing foot related problems, especially if their blood sugar levels are not controlled. That is why they need to keep up with regular check-ups, especially for their feet, so that any problems they encounter can be taken to the health care provider on time. Early treatment can help in the avoidance of hazardous foot conditions.