Diabetic foot care

Posted on 5 November 2014

A diagnosis of diabetes brings with it a number of new precautions that a patient should take. One of these is taking better care of your legs and feet. Brandon Maggen, a podiatrist based at Mediclinic Milnerton shares his care advice…

Why should diabetics look after their feet?
Uncontrolled sugar levels can affect the feet in a number of ways, which can cause poor circulation and nerve damage. These, in turn, can lead to a slew of complications of their own, like infection and changes in the shape of your feet, and in extreme cases of neglect, gangrene and amputation. In all long-standing and uncontrolled diabetics, foot complications remain the biggest cause for hospital admission worldwide. In general, diabetics’ circulation and nerve functions change resulting in loss of protective function and poorer response to healing. This can be devastating and could result in loss of limbs. When complications exist, the foot is at high risk for infection, deformity, injury and all the consequences of these. Ulceration, infection and deformity may cause tremendous limitation to the patient and dramatically affect his/her quality of life.

What treatments are available to diabetics?
‘Prevention is better than cure’ remains the principle and definitive treatment. However, once complications exist, treatment needs to be aggressive and quick to slow down any further damage or worsening of the condition. This begins with optimal sugar control and may include one or more of the following: surgery, wound care, diabetic footwear, orthotics, education or generalised podiatric care.

What precautions can be taken to avoid diabetic foot complications?
Maintaining optimal glucose control is key. Be sensible with your feet and as far as possible reduce risk. Have your feet comprehensively examined twice a year, or more if a problem exists.

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.