Things You Can Do To Maintain Healthy Diabetic Foot Care
Take good care of your feet when you are a diabetic patient. Make sure that your glucose level is low. Manage your cholesterol count with dieting, and keep your blood pressure under control. A slight cut or blister could cause you to eventually need an amputation. That happens when you do not take steps to treat or have your podiatrist treat the area with antibiotics to avoid an infection. The cut or blister has the potential to become gangrenous.
If gangrene growth worsens, you may not only lose your foot but your leg as well may have to be amputated:
Keeping a Podiatrist on Your Health Care Team
There are very simple diabetic foot care precautions that you can exercise at home to maintain healthy feet. However, you should always make sure you have a podiatrist on your health care team list of physicians. Do not hesitate to call your podiatrist or primary care physician if a bruise, cut or blister on your foot does not heal in a reasonable time period.
Moisturizing Your Feet
Leave some moisture on your feet after a bath or shower, and then apply 100% pure Vaseline to your feet. Cover the bottom of your feet with a generous amount of Vaseline. Do not moisten the area between your toes. Always keep that area dry. Cornstarch is a product you should keep handy in your home. Apply it to the area between your toes, which prevents infections from forming in those tight areas that get damp or sweaty.
Pay Attention to Numbness of Feet
Decreased blood circulation and numbness create foot problems for diabetic patients. You may not be aware that you have a bruise or a cut because of numbness in your feet. Numbness depletes any feeling in those extremities.
Exercises to Keep Good Circulation
Try wiggling your toes at intervals when you sit for long periods working on the computer. Perform marching steps for a few minutes. Stand up and walk around. Raise your feet and plant them on the wall when you are lying on your back in bed. Do that for a couple of minutes.
Frequently Examine Your Feet
Examine your feet every day. Do you remember your grandmother using a mirror to examine the bottom of her feet? You can easily use that method to examine your feet as well. If you cannot manage to easily do that, ask a relative or friend to examine your feet each day. This way you can find out whether any sores or inflamed warts are developing on your feet and then take steps to have them treated.
Walking and Swimming Promotes Good Blood Circulation
Get into the habit of walking, which increases blood flow in your feet. Swimming is another activity that aids good circulation in your lower extremities. Simply move around instead of maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. Be sure to wear shoes and socks at all times indoors and outdoors. To learn more, contact a company such as Allied Ankle & Foot Care Centers PC with any questions or concerns you might have.