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Diabetes & Foot Care
On this page:
Too much glucose (sugar) in the blood for a long time can cause
diabetes problems. This high blood glucose (also called blood sugar)
can damage many parts of the body, such as the heart, blood vessels,
eyes, and kidneys. Heart and blood vessel disease can lead to heart
attacks and strokes. You can do a lot to prevent or slow down
diabetes problems.
This booklet is about feet and skin problems caused by diabetes.
You will learn the things you can do each day and during each year
to stay healthy and prevent diabetes problems.
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High blood glucose can cause feet and skin
problems. |
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| Follow the healthy eating plan that you and your doctor or dietitian
have worked out. |
| Be active a total of 30 minutes most days. Ask your doctor what activities
are best for you. |
| Take your diabetes medicines at the same times each day. |
| Check your blood glucose every day. Each time you check your blood
glucose, write the number in your record book. |
| Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters, sores, swelling, redness,
or sore toenails. |
| Brush and floss your teeth and gums every day. |
| Don't smoke. |
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High blood glucose from diabetes causes two problems that can
hurt your feet:
- Nerve damage. One problem is damage to nerves
in your legs and feet. With damaged nerves, you might not feel
pain, heat, or cold in your legs and feet. A sore or cut on your
foot may get worse because you do not know it is there. This lack
of feeling is caused by nerve damage, also called diabetic
neuropathy (ne-ROP-uh-thee). It can lead to a large sore or
infection.
- Poor blood flow. The second problem happens
when not enough blood flows to your legs and feet. Poor blood flow
makes it hard for a sore or infection to heal. This problem is
called peripheral (puh-RIF-uh-rul) vascular disease. Smoking when
you have diabetes makes blood flow problems much worse.
These two problems can work together to cause a foot problem.
For example, you get a blister from shoes that do not fit. You do
not feel the pain from the blister because you have nerve damage in
your foot. Next, the blister gets infected. If blood glucose is
high, the extra glucose feeds the germs. Germs grow and the
infection gets worse. Poor blood flow to your legs and feet can slow
down healing. Once in a while a bad infection never heals. The
infection might cause gangrene (GANG-green). If a person has
gangrene, the skin and tissue around the sore die. The area becomes
black and smelly.
To keep gangrene from spreading, a doctor may have to do surgery
to cut off a toe, foot, or part of a leg. Cutting off a body part is
called an amputation (amp-yoo-TAY-shun).
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- Wash your feet in warm water every day. Make sure the
water is not too hot by testing the temperature with your elbow.
Do not soak your feet. Dry your feet well, especially between your
toes
- Look at your feet every day to check for cuts, sores,
blisters, redness, calluses, or other problems. Checking every
day is even more important if you have nerve damage or poor blood
flow. If you cannot bend over or pull your feet up to check them,
use a mirror. If you cannot see well, ask someone else to check
your feet.
- If your skin is dry, rub lotion on your feet after you wash
and dry them. Do not put lotion between your toes
- File corns and calluses gently with an emery board or
pumice stone. Do this after your bath or shower.
- Cut your toenails once a week or when needed. Cut
toenails when they are soft from washing. Cut them to the shape of
the toe and not too short. File the edges with an emery
board.
- Always wear shoes or slippers to protect your feet from
injuries.
- Always wear socks or stockings to avoid blisters. Do
not wear socks or knee-high stockings that are too tight below
your knee.
- Wear shoes that fit well. Shop for shoes at
the end of the day when your feet are bigger. Break in shoes
slowly. Wear them 1 to 2 hours each day for the first 1 to 2
weeks.
- Before putting your shoes on, feel the insides to make
sure they have no sharp edges or objects that might injure your
feet.
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| Take off your shoes and
socks so your doctor will check your
feet. |
- Tell your doctor right away about any foot
problems.
- Ask your doctor to look at your feet at each diabetes checkup.
To make sure your doctor checks your feet, take off your shoes and
socks before your doctor comes into the room.
- Ask your doctor to check how well the nerves in your feet
sense feeling.
- Ask your doctor to check how well blood is flowing to your
legs and feet.
- Ask your doctor to show you the best way to trim your
toenails. Ask what lotion or cream to use on your legs and
feet.
- If you cannot cut your toenails or you have a foot problem,
ask your doctor to send you to a foot doctor. A doctor who cares
for feet is called a podiatrist (puh-DY-uh-trist).
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Anyone can have corns, blisters, and athlete's foot.
If you have diabetes and your blood glucose stays high, these foot
problems can lead to infections.
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Corns and calluses are thick layers of skin
caused by too much rubbing or pressure on the same spot. Corns
and calluses can become infected. |
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Blisters can form if shoes always rub the same
spot. Wearing shoes that do not fit or wearing shoes without
socks can cause blisters. Blisters can become infected. |
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Ingrown toenails happen when an edge of the nail
grows into the skin. The skin can get red and infected.
Ingrown toenails can happen if you cut into the corners of
your toenails when you trim them. If toenail edges are sharp,
smooth them with an emery board. You can also get an ingrown
toenail if your shoes are too tight. |
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A bunion forms when your big toe slants toward the
small toes and the place between the bones near the base of
your big toe grows big. This spot can get red, sore, and
infected. Bunions can form on one or both feet. Pointy shoes
may cause bunions. Bunions often run in the family. Surgery
can remove bunions. |
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Plantar warts are caused by a virus. The warts
usually form on the bottoms of the feet. |
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Hammertoes form when a foot muscle gets weak. The
weakness may be from diabetic nerve damage. The weakened
muscle makes the tendons in the foot shorter and makes the
toes curl under the feet. You may get sores on the bottoms of
your feet and on the tops of your toes. The feet can change
their shape. Hammertoes can cause problems with walking and
finding shoes that fit well. Hammertoes can run in the family.
Wearing shoes that are too short can also cause
hammertoes. |
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Dry and cracked skin can happen because the nerves
in your legs and feet do not get the message to keep your skin
soft and moist. Dry skin can become cracked and allow germs to
enter. If your blood glucose is high, it feeds the germs and
makes the infection worse. |
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Athlete's foot is a fungus that causes redness and
cracking of the skin. It is itchy. The cracks between the toes
allow germs to get under the skin. If your blood glucose is
high, it feeds the germs and makes the infection worse. The
infection can spread to the toenails and make them thick,
yellow, and hard to cut. |
All of these foot problems can be taken care of. Tell your doctor
about any foot problem as soon as you see it.
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Special shoes can be made to fit softly around your
sore feet or feet that have changed shape. These special shoes help
protect your feet. Medicare and other health insurance programs may
pay for special shoes. Talk to your doctor about how and where to
get them.
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Drinking fluids helps keep your skin moist
and healthy. |
Diabetes can hurt your skin in two ways:
- If your blood glucose is high, your body loses fluid. With
less fluid in your body, your skin can get dry. Dry skin can be
itchy, causing you to scratch and make it sore. Also, dry skin can
crack. Cracks allow germs to enter and cause infection. If your
blood glucose is high, it feeds germs and makes infections worse.
Skin can get dry on your legs, feet, elbows, and other places on
your body.
- Nerve damage can decrease the amount you sweat. Sweating helps
keep your skin soft and moist. Decreased sweating in your feet and
legs can cause dry skin.
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- After you wash with a mild soap, make sure you rinse and dry yourself
well. Check places where water can hide, such as under the arms, under the
breasts, between the legs, and between the toes.
- Keep your skin moist by using a lotion or cream after you
wash. Ask your doctor to suggest one.
- Drink lots of fluids, such as water, to keep your skin moist
and healthy.
- Wear all-cotton underwear. Cotton allows air to move around
your body better.
- Check your skin after you wash. Make sure you have no dry,
red, or sore spots that might lead to an infection.
- Tell your doctor about any skin problems.
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National Diabetes
Information Clearinghouse
National Diabetes Education
Program
American Diabetes Association
Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation International
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