Diabetes Specialist

How does diabetes affect my feet?

Diabetes is a systemic disease that can have a widespread impact on your health, including your feet. With diabetes, your body is unable to regulate its blood sugar levels properly, which leads to glucose buildup in your blood vessels and nerve damage. As extremities, your feet can be among the hardest hit by this poor circulation and subsequent nerve damage since they’re farthest from your heart, and your body needs to work harder to deliver the necessary oxygen and nutrients to these areas.

The problems that arise from diabetes in your feet are twofold:

First, as the blood circulation to your feet becomes increasingly compromised, you may have a harder time fighting off infection. This means that even the most minor cut or scrape can quickly blossom into something more serious as these wounds are unable to heal properly and the infection spreads.

Second, the loss of good blood circulation damages the nerves in your feet, leaving you with numbness and tingling, and even a total loss of sensation in your feet.

What are the signs of problems in my feet?

You need to be on the lookout for any warning signs if you have diabetes, chief among them:

• Numbness or tingling in your feet
• A change of temperature in your feet
• Wounds that are slow to heal, if at all
  
  

As a diabetic, you need to be hypervigilant about any changes in your feet and get in to see Dr. Michaels at the first sign of a problem.

How can I manage my foot care with diabetes?

Dr. Michaels has a number of tools for diabetic patients and is proud to have a diabetic center of excellence at his practice. The doctor takes a holistic approach to diabetic foot care, focusing on prevention, which includes:

• Expert monitoring
• At-home care of your skin and bones
• Nutrition (focusing on lowering your body mass index, if necessary)
  
  

The care you provide at home is critical in helping ward off potential problems, and Dr. Michaels sits down with you to review what you need to do, including:

• Daily checks for wounds
• Keeping skin clean and dry
• Maintaining soft skin to avoid calluses
• Trimming your toenails properly to avoid ingrown toenails
  
  

Dr. Michaels also fits you with orthotics to rebalance your feet to encourage circulation.

The bottom line is that Dr. Michaels is with you every step of the way to encourage good foot health in the face of diabetes. To learn more, call Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Institute or use the online scheduler.

Diabetic Foot Care Gallery