Diabetes is a blanket term used to describe a group of diseases defined by high blood glucose or blood sugar. Everyone needs blood sugar to survive: it fuels your brain and provides energy for all of the muscles throughout your body.
However, blood sugar levels that are too high for an extended period of time can lead to serious health problems, including nerve damage, heart disease, and circulatory problems.
Uncontrolled diabetes damages your nerves, negatively affects blood flow, and increases your risk of fungal infections such as athlete’s foot.
If the nerves in your feet aren’t working properly, you might suffer a cut or puncture wound and not even realize it. Over time, this can lead to an infection and gangrene, and ultimately, the need for an amputation.
There’s no cure for diabetes, but you can manage your symptoms. Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, exercising regularly, and inspecting your feet on a daily basis can significantly lower your risk of serious complications.
Diabetic foot care is a type of podiatry that works to diagnose, treat, and prevent the foot-related complications of diabetes. If you want to lower your risk of infections, nerve damage, and other related problems, the team at Colorado Foot + Ankle Sports Medicine recommends:
If you have diabetes, you should also visit the podiatrist every 2-3 months. Participating in regular checkups is one of the easiest ways to prevent diabetes-related foot problems from getting worse.
Whenever possible, Colorado Foot + Ankle Sports Medicine treats diabetes-related foot problems using noninvasive, conservative measures of care. Oftentimes, healthy lifestyle changes are enough to ease your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
If you’re living with diabetes, and it’s negatively affecting your feet or mobility, diabetic foot care can help. Request an appointment at Colorado Foot + Ankle Sports Medicine today by calling the office or clicking the online booking tool.
