Welcome to my blog! My name is Geoff. I have always been a sporty kind of chap. I love to go long distance running and I also play football and rugby. One day after a long run, I had a terrible pain in my foot. I thought I had just been overdoing it a little bit, so I decided to rest up. A week later, it was no better. I was still in a lot of pain and had to drop out of a couple of football matches. My doctor sent me to see a podiatrist who examined my foot and explained I had damaged a ligament. The podiatrist helped me to get back to full health. I decided to start this blog to explain the importance of good foot care.
If you are diabetic, you should be keen to protect your feet. This is because your condition can affect your nervous system, which means you might find it challenging to properly feel your feet. This means you can easily develop major foot problems from simple things such as blisters. In addition, diabetes will affect the normal oil production and sweat secretion, which is essential in lubricating your feet's skin. These are just a few problems that your diabetic condition can have on your feet. For this reason, knowing a thing or two about foot care is important. Here are some ways you can take care of your feet.
Daily Foot Inspections Are Key
Make it a habit to check your feet everyday no matter now tiring you may find it. Check for nail problems, scratches, redness, blisters, cuts, and ulcers. When doing this, make sure you check between your toes and at the bottom of the feet. If you are finding it difficult to check your feet, you can ask someone else to do it for you. Placing a mirror on the floor beneath your feet can also do the trick.
Since diabetes causes poor circulation of blood, your wounds may not heal quickly. This is why it's important that you check your feet daily so that you identify any wounds early enough and have them treated while still in their early stages.
Be Keen When Getting into Your Hot Tub
Hot bath tubs can actually be detrimental to your feet. This is because with diabetes, the ability of your feet to feel can be impaired, which means you can actually step inside very hot water without realising it's that hot. This means you can easily scald your skin, leading to blisters and burns. Therefore, check the temperature of your tub before stepping inside it. You can simply use your elbow.
Don't Walk Barefoot
You are likely aware that you shouldn't walk barefoot on sandy beaches or hot pavements. What you might not know is that even walking barefoot around your own house can lead to injuries and sores, which may in turn lead to infections. Therefore, always use clean stockings or socks to cover your feet if you don't feel like wearing shoes inside your house. However, make sure the socks or stockings don't have rough seams.
Wash Your Feet with Warm Water
Wash your feet daily with warm, not hot, water. Make sure you don't soak your feet for too long because in case you have any sores, waterlogging them will make it harder for them to heal. Dry your feet immediately after washing, especially between your toes. Moist skin can easily break down, making it easy to develop infections. Talk to a podiatrist for more information.
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