Taking care of your legs and feet is very
important when you have diabetes, since nerve damage and poor circulation can
develop. Nerve damage causes pain in some people, while in others it causes the
loss feeling making it difficult to sense pain if the feet are injured. These
are some things you can do to avoid injuries.
•
Wear well fitting, closed
in shoes, preferably leather or canvas. Buy new shoes in the evening when your
feet may be slightly swollen. You may need special shoes if you have a foot deformity.
• Check shoes for foreign objects before putting them on.
•
Socks and stockings should
be clean and dry and put on smoothly. The top shouldn't be too tight.
•
Never walk barefoot,
always wear shoes or slippers (socks and flip-flops aren't enough).
•
Bathe with warm water, not
hot water. And, dry your feet well, especially between the toes.
•
Check your feet every day.
If necessary, use a mirror or have someone else do it for you. Check tops,
sides, bottoms and between the toes. Look for blisters, cuts, scrapes and
reddened areas.
•
Wash cuts and other wounds
with soap and water, apply an antibiotic cream and cover with a sterile
bandage. Do not use alcohol, iodine or Mercurochrome.
•
Call your doctor if a cut,
sore or wound is slow to heel or becomes swollen, red, hot or begins to drain.
•
Toenails should be cut
straight across and not too close. A good time to trim your toe nails is after
a bath when they are soft. Have someone else do it for you if you do not see
well.
• Do not break blisters. But, if they do break treat them as a cut or other
wound.
•
Do not use hot water
bottles, heating pads or other heat sources on you feet. Do not soak your feet.
If you have diabetes, you should wear shoes
especially made for diabetes patients. These shoes greater help circulation.
Most patients with diabetes are eligible under Medicare guidelines to get one
pair of shoes and 3 inserts per year if they have one or more of the following
conditions:
• History of partial or complete amputation of the foot.
• History of previous foot ulceration.
• History of pre-ulcerative callus formation.
• Peripheral neuropathy with evidence of callus formation.
• Foot deformity, poor/impaired circulation and/or Diabetic ulceration