Patients with diabetes need to routinely check their feet to make sure they don’t have any cuts, sores, blisters, or open skin that could get infected.
An imbalance of blood sugar levels can cause nerve damage, affecting your ability to feel things like blisters or scrapes.
A diabetic person may not be aware they have an open sore on their foot, and it then becomes infected. Similarly, calluses, corns, and dry skin that cracks can create openings that allow bacteria to enter your body and cause infection.
The Importance of Diabetic Food Care
Diabetic foot care is an important part of your ongoing diabetes management. It helps ensure there are no complications from diabetes affecting your feet.
Below are some of the diabetes foot conditions that we help manage.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy is nerve damage that affects the hands and feet in people with diabetes. While it can be painful, many patients actually lose sensation in their extremities. As a result, they are unable to feel when they’ve been hurt, or if they have a wound that needs medical attention.
Foot ulcers can quickly turn into major health risks for someone with diabetes. Even a small blister on the back of your foot can turn into an infection if you aren’t able to care for it properly.
Nerve Damage
Like neuropathy, nerve damage impacts your foot sensations and ability to feel anything that affects your feet. Nerve damage can also cause pain, and make it difficult for you to move around in your daily life.
Part of routine diabetic foot care is controlling nerve damage pain and finding treatments to ensure you’re able to stay mobile.
Poor Blood Flow
Because your feet are farthest from your heart and brain, they tend to take a longer time to heal. Reduced blood flow to the lower extremities means fewer nutrients and cellular regeneration.
This puts you at an elevated risk of developing complications from a foot problem. Specifically, we help diabetic patients ensure they don’t develop infections in their feet that would likely worsen rapidly due to reduced blood flow.
Wound Care
Wound care for diabetics is essential to ensuring they don’t get ill and develop a significant skin or blood infection. We cannot stress this enough: even a minor foot injury could result in life-threatening problems. It’s important to reach out to our office right away if you have any cuts, sores, or other wounds on your feet.
Contact Us Today for Diabetic Foot Care You Can Count On
If you are looking for a podiatrist in Berkeley, CA, Dr. Miyazaki is here to help. We offer specialized care and support for patients with diabetes who need a professional’s knowledge and skill to manage their foot care.
Please reach out to us today at (510) 647-3744, or click here to send us a message or book an appointment online.