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Diabetic foot is a serious problem for patients with diabetes, with poor circulation, neuropathy, and slow healing times leading to foot ulcers and deformities. Proper foot care, including regular exams, healthy circulation, and wearing supportive footwear, is crucial to prevent amputations. Prompt attention is needed for infected or ulcerated feet, and patients should be educated about the risks and prevention of diabetic foot.
Diabetic foot is a common problem in patients with diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetes are prone to a wide range of associated health problems and their feet are particularly vulnerable to damage. The leading non-traumatic cause of lower extremity amputations are complications of diabetic foot, underlining the seriousness of this condition and the importance of proper foot and lower extremity care for diabetics. Physicians also need to play a role in diabetic foot management with routine exams to assess foot health.
People with diabetes develop poor circulation, neuropathy, slow healing times, and weakened immune systems. Circulation to the foot is already challenging and becomes even more difficult for people with diabetes. The disruption of circulation can lead to numbness in the foot, which allows diabetics to injure their feet without realizing it, and structural foot abnormalities can emerge when patients place pressure on their feet during daily activities.
One of the most common problems associated with diabetic foot is diabetic ulcers which can appear on the soles of the feet in response to poor circulation and pressure on the soles of the feet. These ulcers can become infected and risk enlarging or promoting infection down to the bone. Diabetics can also develop foot deformities, and loss of sensation in the foot can lead to loss of toes and eventually loss of foot if the foot becomes severely damaged.
Diabetic foot management involves a number of approaches, including promoting healthy circulation to the feet, regularly examining the feet for signs of neuropathy and ulceration, wearing supportive footwear, keeping feet clean and dry, and managing diabetes so the diabetes does not get out of control. There is some controversy surrounding footwear, with some doctors simply recommending comfortable footwear that doesn’t put pressure on the foot, while others prefer to see their patients wearing custom-made orthotics. Light exercise and massage can also help keep feet healthy for diabetics.
In the event that a foot becomes infected or ulcerated, prompt and aggressive attention is needed to promote healing and reduce the risk of losing the foot. Diabetic foot is also a problem in hospitalized patients, as diabetics’ feet may not be checked regularly and they may develop problems while the patient is in a hospital bed. Patients with diabetes should be provided with comprehensive information about the risks of developing diabetic foot and tools they can use to reduce the damage to their feet.
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