What problems does diabetic foot care cover?

Diabetic foot care includes all foot problems in people with diabetes. The most common issues include: 

Peripheral neuropathy

About half of people with diabetes develop nerve damage, most commonly in the feet (peripheral neuropathy). Nerve damage causes problems such as numbness, tingling, and pain in your feet. 

People with prolonged nerve damage may develop Charcot foot, in which the foot arch bones collapse and form a rocker bottom. 

Vascular damage

People with diabetes are up to four times as likely to develop peripheral artery disease (PAD), in which the arteries don’t deliver enough oxygenated blood to the feet. 

Lack of blood prevents you from healing and increases your infection risk. Many people with diabetes develop problems with the veins, which return blood to the heart. 

Between nerve and blood vessel damage, you can develop nonhealing or slow-to-heal wounds in your ankle area (venous stasis wounds) or anywhere on the foot. Untreated, these wounds could become very serious and potentially lead to limb loss. 

Vascular and nerve damage can also increase your risk of bunions, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, toenail fungus, corns, and calluses. And those issues are more likely to cause complications if you have diabetes. 

What does diabetic foot care involve?

Diabetic foot care involves regular foot check-ups at least once or twice a year. Additionally, you can get immediate treatment for any new issues like diabetic foot wounds. The podiatric specialists provide expert wound care in the office.

Treatment of wounds can include:

• Wound dressing
• Antibiotics
• Precision medicine, like growth factor therapy
• Bioengineered skin grafts 
• Negative pressure wound therapy 

These and other specialized methods can help you heal and avoid amputation. The skilled experts can successfully treat even severe ulcers that aren’t currently healing at all, and they also treat non-diabetic wounds. 

If you have diabetes, you need and deserve the best diabetic foot care. Schedule your appointment with our leading diabetic foot care specialists online or call the nearest office today.