Living With Diabetes: Why You Should See A Podiatrist

By Rhea Manussen|2021-11-08T03:04:12+00:00May 17th, 2021|

Diabetic amputations still exist

The recent news of Aussie icon Bert Newton’s leg amputation has brought to light a harrowing truth about living with diabetes, that has sent a shock through the community. It’s not always front-page news but every year there are 4,400 amputations in Australia as a result of diabetes. This is the second highest rate in the developed world.

Looking after your feet when you have diabetes is a must because of the associated potential for complications to arise from having diabetes. The two most serious foot complications caused by diabetes are as follows:

Nerve Damage

Symptoms of nerve damage include:

Numbness
Feeling cold in legs and feet
Pins and needles/tingling sensation in the feet
Burning pain/restless legs in bed at night

Blood Supply

Signs of poor blood circulation include:

Feet appear red or blue in colour
Cuts or lesions that are slow to heal
Loss of hair growth in the feet and lower shin
Sharp leg cramps after walking short distances or up stairs
Pain in the feet, even at rest (often in the early hours of the morning)
Feet that are cold to touch

The associated damage of these complications is more likely to occur if:

You have long standing diabetes
Your blood glucose levels have been too high for an extended period
You are a smoker – smoking causes a reduced blood flow to your feet, this can delay healing
You are sedentary

How your feet can be at risk with diabetes

High risk diabetics often suffer from both poor sensation and poor blood supply. If you have poor sensation then there is a real danger that you may not detect an initial injury. This can lead to injuries exacerbating and leading to more serious complications including infection. If you have poor circulation then wounds may fail to heal which also increases the risk of infection. Having both of these obviously increases your risk as a diabetic to more serious complications. A chronic non-healing wound on the foot with a spreading infection can then result in the need for amputation as this is the only treatment that will prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the body and vital organs.

The importance of seeing a podiatrist for diabetes foot care

Seeing a Podiatrist regularly can help you stay on top of your foot care, especially if you struggle to reach or cannot see your feet well. A podiatrist can help prevent diabetic complications, including infections and the need for amputation, with regular foot care. This can include:

Cutting your toenails – sometimes it can be hard to see or reach the feet to cut your toenails safely, a podiatrist can ensure this is done in the correct way to keep you safe

Debriding calluses and pressure areas – these can cause skin breakdowns and ulcerations if left unattended

Footwear advice – protecting your feet with a shoe that is the right length and width is important to avoid pressure areas

Offloading pressure areas with orthotics – sometimes a good shoe is not enough to offload certain high-pressure areas, a podiatrist can make customised orthotics that will offload high pressure areas and redistribute forces, which helps to prevent calluses, corns and ulcerations.

Performing a monofilament test – this gives an indication of whether there is nerve damage present

Performing a doppler ultrasound of the arterial blood flow – this will give an indication of how good the blood supply to the feet is and whether further investigation is required

So if you suffer from diabetes make sure you regularly see one of our Melbourne Podiatrists for the best diabetic foot care. This will help prevent diabetic complications including infections and amputations.