Diabetes

If you have issues manufacturing insulin or metabolizing sugar, starches, and other substances into energy, then you're diabetic. You might also be suffering from hyperglycemia or elevated blood sugar. This can damage your nerves, kidney, heart, feet, and eyes. 26 million Americans are diabetics, and about 7 million of those don't even know they're diabetic. This is a disease with no cure.

Coping with diabetes involves a careful dietary or exercise regimen, medical care, blood sugar maintenance, and lots of medication. You should control your everyday life in order to avoid severe complications. You should be disciplined in order to enjoy an active, fulfilling life despite the presence of diabetes. A podiatrist can also enter the picture because diabetes has foot-related complications that, at worse, can result in amputations.

Here are the most common and recognizable diabetes symptoms:

• Skin color changes
• Inflammation of your ankle or feet
• Your toes or feet have numbness
• Leg pain
• Slow-to-heal foot sores
• Bleeding sores and calluses
• Dry cracks on the skin of your heel and feet
• Ingrown toenails
• Fungal toenails

You should go to a podiatrist while undergoing a team approach to deal with your diabetes, which affects many parts of your body. Diabetes management can extend all the way to the foot. Your podiatrist should coordinate with your physician in order to avoid limb amputation because you've ignored foot maintenance advice.

Podiatrists have been documented as effective experts when it comes to avoiding diabetes-related amputations. Over 65,000 lower limb amputations are done every year thanks to poorly managed diabetes. You also have a 50% chance of having both legs amputated within three to five years of having your first leg amputation.

Diabetic foot care requires podiatrist assistance. This is because it lowers your amputation chances by 85% and your hospitalization chances by 24%. Meanwhile, you can go about early detection care of regular foot and ankle screenings, which is the best way to truly avoid amputation and possible complications.

These are the tops and recommendations you should keep in mind as a diabetic when it comes to your feet:

• Daily inspection of your feet to see if there's toenail thickening and discoloration.
• Look for leg and foot bruises, cuts, and sores that don't heal.
• Your socks should be soft and thick. Socks with seams can irritate your legs and feet with blisters and skin injuries so don't wear them.
• Walk, jog, or exercise more for improved circulation.
• Wear the right shoes for the right activity.
• Use form-fitting shoes with a bit of space between them to allow for foot growth or changes.
• Diabetics should not go barefoot in locker rooms, shower rooms, swimming pool changing rooms, and any place that's public or damp. Wear shower shoes or new flip-flops that aren't worn.
• Don't remove warts, corns, and calluses on your own. Don't buy OTC products like shoe inserts either. Depend on your doctor and his prescriptions.
• Consult your foot doctor immediately. Annual checkups of your feet and legs are called for.

Dr. Arshia Roohian is presently offering her podiatric services to the following cities: Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita, Irvine, and Laguna Woods. She also provides professional and dependable therapeutic foot procedures dealing with diabetes. She even does podiatrist therapy for diabetics every day, so set an appointment now.