Diabetes: Taking Care of Your Feet

When you have diabetes, your feet need extra care and attention. Diabetes can damage the nerve endings and blood vessels in your feet, making you less likely to notice when your feet are injured. Diabetes can also interfere with your body's ability to fight infection. If you develop a minor foot injury, it could become an ulcer or develop into a serious infection. Ulcers can be found on the bottom of your feet, or on the top or bottom of your toes. With good foot care, you can prevent most of these problems.

Caring for your feet is easy. Most of the care can be done when you are bathing and getting ready for bed. Preventing injury to your feet is merely a matter of wearing properly fitted shoes and socks at all times.

These steps can help keep your feet healthy:

• Examine your feet every day. And have your doctor examine your feet during every visit.
• Check your shoes for any loose objects or rough edges before you put them on.
• Look at foot care as part of your daily routine. Soon it will become as automatic as brushing your teeth.
• Don't use home remedies to treat foot problems. Home remedies can hurt your feet. Over-the-counter medicine designed to remove calluses could contain chemicals that could burn your skin. Also, trying to cut corns or calluses yourself could lead to infections.
• Get early treatment for any foot problem, even a minor one.

 What is proper foot care for a person who has diabetes?

 Why do I need to care for my feet?

 How do I care for my feet?

 Where to go from here

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