Diabetics have a whole host of health issues that they have to constantly stay vigilant for. Diabetic foot care is just one of those areas because one of the most common problems that diabetics have is in minimizing the risk for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the feet and legs.
Diabetic neuropathy is actually not as common in diabetics who are able to control their blood sugar levels. Neuropathy in feet can occur in patients who have a number of other types of health issues but diabetes is usually the main culprit. Similarly there are also three other main types of neuropathy including autonomic neuropathy, proximal neuropathy, and focal neuropathy however peripheral neuropathy is the only type that affects the feet and lower limbs.
Neuropathy in short is basically nerve damage and neuropathy in feet is usually caused by nerve damage to the nerves in the feet due to the complications of diabetes. The complications in this case are prolonged periods of elevated blood sugar levels. In general science has shown that this alone is typically the main cause of diabetic foot neuropathy and treating it is critical to your overall diabetes treatment regimen.
Simply having diabetes requires steps and procedures to be taken to improve your health and manage the condition. Diabetes is characterized by the body’s lack of control over insulin and blood sugar and thus many people have to pump insulin and manage very closely the food they eat to encourage a more healthy blood sugar range.
In many diabetics a lifetime of carful management of blood sugar levels still can result in nerve damage and eventual neuropathy in feet and lower leg areas so as your case of diabetes advances it becomes increasingly necessary to follow proper diabetic foot care. The reason for this is that diabetic nerve damage in your feet can cause your sensation in the area to diminish and eventually go away entirely leaving you much more prone to injury.
When you cannot feel foot pain as you normally should you might not recognize blisters or foot sores forming. You may cut yourself and not realize it. You may stub your toe and not realize the severity of the injury simply because the pain is minimal or non-existent. Some extreme cases of diabetic neuropathy in feet include people who have sores in their foot which get infected and start spreading. The bone and surrounding tissues can be at risk in these cases because these types of people often have poor circulation in their feet as well which can make healing wounds very difficult.
Because of diabetic peripheral neuropathy and poor blood flow many advanced diabetics can have so much damage done to their feet that healing is not possible. This is why so many diabetics loose limbs as they get older. It is absolutely imperative to practice proper diabetic foot care if you are going to treat these symptoms and minimize the risk for further damage.
The best way to treat neuropathy and all the symptoms of diabetes is to manage your blood sugar better under the guidance of your doctor and stay as active as possible. Study after study after study show that exercise and physical activity are the best way to manage insulin resistance and improve the symptoms of diabetes but to do this you have to take the best care of your feet as possible… especially if you have an advanced case of diabetes.
Make sure you thoroughly inspect and clean your feet on a daily basis and periodically throughout the day if you can. You always want to identify foot issues before they get to be too bad. If you have trouble doing this yourself you may want to enlist the help of a loved one such as a spouse. In between inspections and cleanings however you should wear proper diabetic shoes and diabetic socks no matter if you are staying around the house or heading off into the real world. If you are exercising then you will want to have the best diabetic walking shoes you can afford as these will help you stay active and on your feet better than normal athletic shoes. They are made specifically for the issues that diabetics have to deal with on a daily basis.
Treating the symptoms of neuropathy in your feet is really an exercise in minimizing the risk for further damage. Always look for ways to better improve your blood sugar management and always look to improve your level of physical activity but above all stay on top of foot injury by looking out for it and treating it as early as possible because losing a foot to a basic infection can make the rest of your health management routine much more difficult.
To learn more about diabetic shoes and how they help and why they are important please read this article: The Best Shoes For Diabetics which not only talks about diabetic shoes but everything surrounding the topic of diabetic foot care.
If however you already know the importance of wearing diabetic shoes you may want to do some shopping for diabetic shoes over at Amazon where the prices tend to be the lowest all around and the comparison shopping is made easy. Of all the shoes they have in stock this men’s shoe by Propet is one of the highest rated and is designed specifically for men with diabetes. You can also try this similar Propet shoe for women.
