4 Common Foot Problems You Can Have Due to Your Diabetes

People diagnosed with diabetes must take extra care of themselves to ensure their health problem doesn’t get worse. As such, you will have to take necessary precautions, like modifying your lifestyle, getting rid of bad habits, and watching out for your body, specifically your feet!

If you’re experiencing concerns with your feet, such as discomfort, pain, and bruising, failing to attend to your needs could worsen your diabetic condition and lead to severe medical issues. In fact, a mere nail fungus occurrence could become an infection, which, in the long run, can result in gangrene or possibly amputation.

It doesn’t matter if you’re only at the first stage of diabetes and you believe you’re still healthy as can be. It’s crucial to keep your feet healthy to prevent injuries from taking their toll on you. Keep reading below to learn about the typical foot issues that most people with diabetes often face and how to prevent them from happening.

Foot Swelling

If you have diabetes, there’s a huge chance that your feet and legs often swell due to your poor blood circulation. Some instances that can increase the swelling and will require better foot care are experiencing humid weather, standing for a long time, practicing poor eating habits, and other serious health concerns.

Fortunately, there are ways you can minimize foot swelling, which include putting up your feet when you’re sitting down or lying in bed and purchasing special-made stockings to prevent fluid buildup. You should also work to control your blood sugar levels and stay active to manage your weight properly.

Foot Calluses

Calluses appear as a thick layer of skin forming beneath your feet when they cause friction against your footwear or rub against rough pavements when walking barefoot. While they aren’t harmful to one’s health, they can be pretty bad for people with diabetes.

Luckily, you can avoid foot calluses from occurring by purchasing better shoes or applying callus cream to relieve the discomfort and get rid of them. You can also drop by a podiatrist’s clinic to remove calluses permanently.

Foot Ulcer

You know you have a foot ulcer when you notice wounds appearing on the soles of your feet. They can start as noticeable patches of fluid that can burst open and undergo infection when you fail to apply the proper medication to serve as foot treatment immediately.

People with diabetes should monitor their feet regularly in case there are symptoms of ulcers. At the same time, you can prevent them from occurring by avoiding walking around without shoes on, using footwear with extra cushioning, and utilizing compression wraps and braces.

Ingrown Toenails

Those with diabetes have it harder when dealing with ingrown toenails, especially when they lead to an infection. But when your feet or legs are usually numb, it’s often complicated to notice if you have ingrown toenails that are still at their early stages.

The best thing to do is inspect your toes regularly for any symptoms of redness or inflammation. You should also cut your nails straight often and avoid trimming them too short. Visiting your doctor at the first sign of an ingrown is also necessary to prevent unwanted effects.

Conclusion

Whether you are facing diabetes or not, you should always practice looking after your feet so that you can rest assured that you won’t have a difficult time managing your health condition. Some common foot issues you need to stay alert for are foot swelling, foot calluses, foot ulcers, and ingrown toenails. Knowing how to prevent them or manage them correctly keeps you from experiencing more pain than you already are due to your health condition. 

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