Due to the high risk factors of diabetes and how it affects the foot, special attention to preventative care is a necessity.
Preventative Diabetic Foot Care Tips Include:
- Everyone with diabetes – with or without diagnosed risk factors – should take proper care of their feet. Routine foot exams by your podiatrist and preventive care can minimize or prevent foot problems.
- You should have a thorough foot examination by a podiatrist at least once a year. This includes checking the sense of feeling and the pulses in your feet.
- Ask for a risk evaluation. Specific follow-up and treatment will be based on what risk category your feet are in. Ask for special instructions for people with high-risk feet, if applicable.
- If you have lost some sensation in your feet, they should be visually inspected at every visit by your podiatrist. Take off your shoes and socks at every visit and make sure this happens.
- Ask your podiatrist to check your footwear to make sure that the style and fit are appropriate for the condition of your feet. Ask if special shoes would help your feet stay healthy.
