Care
Diabetes can increase a person’s risk of having foot problems. Since the extreme consequence is amputation, foot care for someone with diabetes becomes a daily priority.
Physical Facts:
Diabetes frequently results in neuropathy, or nerve damage, in the feet. Nerve damage can lead to loss of sensation, making a patient unable to feel pain, heat or cold. The longer a patient has diabetes, the greater the likelihood of developing the problem.
Shoes and foot orthoses protect the feet and improve their function. Foot orthoses are devices inserted into a shoe to provide support or accommodate one or more conditions. Shoes and orthoses also effect a person’s ability to perform physically.
Since feet work in conjunction with legs, knees, hips, and back, foot problems obviously can lead to stress and strain on other parts of the body. Millions of Americans use some type of orthosis, often “self-perscribed” from a store rack, to ease such strain. Self-perscription of off-the-shelf orthoses carries the risk, however, of causing other problems.
For people with diabetes, gradual loss of feeling in the feet interferes with the ability to judge whether shoes or orthotics fit and protect the foot as they should. Wearing protective covering is mandatory, even in the home. But friction or rubbing can go unnoticed and worsen into a break in the skin, or an ulcer. Shoes can be tied too tightly, hindering circulation.
If the foot orthosis is needed, the patient may not be able to determine whether it is effective.