News Articles - Diabetes and Foot Care |
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We always take our feet for granted although it plays an important role in our mobility. With healthy feet, we are able to walk, jog, run, jump, dance and do things we do daily without awareness about the importance of our feet.
The foot is a complex structure made up of bones, ligaments, tendons and hinge joints.
However, if one has diabetes, the health of one's feet may be affected in many ways. Overtime, diabetes causes damage to the nerve and blood vessels in our body.
In some serious diabetes cases, nerve damage (neuropathy) results in symptoms of pain and tingling sensation which can last for months. This is followed by numbness, weakness and finally changes in the shape of the foot as the nerves progressively gets further damage. However, majority of the diabetes patients face numbness without going through any period of pain or tingling sensation.
The most serious danger when a patient loses sensation in their feet is, the feet will lose the feeling of friction of rubbing, bumping and even pain when cut. Thus the patient may not be aware that he/she has injured his/her feet.
Over time, diabetes cause thickening and hardening of blood vessels which constrict the delivery of blood rich oxygen and nutrition to certain areas of the body such as the hands and feet. This will lead to tissue, cell damage, poor skin conditions and wound healing difficulties.
Diabetes also affects the immune system and results in abnormally functioning white blood cells. Once a patient is wounded on his/her feet, he/she is at high risk of getting an infection in the wound and without proper wound care, the wound will be an ulcer and if gangrene sets in, amputation of the limb is a necessity.
Thus it is important to practice healthy foot care by diabetes patients. To begin with, please consult your physician or health care practitioner to recommend a correct footwear for diabetes patients.
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