3 Keys to Preventing Diabetic Foot Complications

April is National Defeat Diabetes Month. And we want to help you protect yourself from this disease! In this post, we’re breaking down important facts about diabetes. Things like, what are the warning signs, how you can manage this disease and what it can do to your feet. We hope this information will clarify why you need a podiatrist on your Diabetic Care Team.

What is Diabetes?

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines diabetes as “The condition in which the body does not properly process food for use as energy.” When you don’t have diabetes, your body turns food into sugar for energy. Then, your pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that helps get that sugar into your cells. But, with diabetes, insulin becomes a problem. With Type 1 diabetes, your body doesn’t produce insulin. And, with Type 2 diabetes, your body makes insulin, but doesn’t use it well. With both types of diabetes, the problems with insulin can cause sugar to build up in your blood. And that’s when you may notice symptoms or, if left untreated, diabetic complications.

Symptoms of Diabetes

Here are some of the more common diabetes symptoms[i]:

· Feeling very thirsty

· Urinating more often

· New and increased hunger

· Weight loss

· Fatigue

· Blurred vision

· Slow-healing sores or frequent infections

If you or your child experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to see your doctor right away.

Preventing and Diagnosing Diabetes

You can’t prevent Type 1 diabetes. But, with Type 2 diabetes, you may be able to protect yourself by making healthy life choices. Weight gain, lack of exercise and obesity all increase your risk for this form of diabetes. That's why avoiding sugary foods and exercising can protect your body's insulin system. And, in that way, you may prevent Type 2 diabetes.

Now, if you have diabetic symptoms, your doctor will order diagnostic tests. These may include an A1C Test, the Fasting Plasma Glucose or the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. Your doctor will decide which diabetes test makes more sense for you.

What Does Diabetes Do to Your Feet?

When you have diabetes, you’ll work with a team of caretakers. They'll help control your disease and prevent complications. At our Westfield podiatry practice, we take special care of our patients with diabetes. That's because this disease can take a toll on your foot health.

If sugar builds up in your blood, that can cause nerve damage. Called diabetic neuropathy , this damage can make your feet tingle or feel pain. For some people, neuropathy takes away all feeling in your feet. And, when that happens, small cuts or sores could become big problems. Because, if you don’t feel an injury, you can’t care for it and it may become infected.

That’s an even bigger problem because diabetes may also reduce the amount of blood flowing to your feet. In turn, this makes it harder for your body to heal.  A minor infection becomes a wound that won’t heal—an ulcer. And, left untreated, a foot ulcer can lead to amputation.

Neuropathy is just one of several ways diabetes can hurt your feet. But it doesn’t have to! First, follow our top tips for diabetic foot care. Then, work hard to keep your diabetes in control. Finally, schedule your next checkup with Dr. David Sullivan. When you come in for a checkup, our podiatrist will do a thorough diabetic foot exam. This is the best way to catch any complications early, and protect your feet from diabetes!
[i] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371444