The Impact of Diabetes on Foot Care

14 Jul

Did you know diabetes can damage both nerves and circulation in your feet, leading to increased risk of serious complications? In fact, amputations are 15 times more likely for people living with diabetes.

In Australia, there are over 10,000 hospital admissions every year for diabetes related foot ulcers, with Australia having the second highest rate of amputation in the developed world.

Sounds a bit grim doesn’t it? Well, the good news is it’s preventable!

So, what’s the deal? Why does this happen? how can the risk be minimised?

The deal is that blood glucose is a necessary part of human functioning as glucose (the end product of our carbohydrate consumption) is the fuel required by our body’s cells to ‘keep the motor running’ so to speak.

Diabetes occurs when there is too much glucose in the blood, because glucose either can’t enter the cell as well as it should and/or because the body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone required to transport glucose into the cell, otherwise known as insulin - the glucose chauffeur.

When this occurs, the excessive amounts of glucose can make our blood go quite acidic, commonly known as acidosis. Over time if not controlled, the body will dump this excess glucose into other parts of our body to normalise the ph or acid levels in our bloodstream.

One of these areas is along our nerve roots (our feet have more than their fair share, given their role is to keep us mobile!). The nerve roots can become degraded which results in a change of sensation in our feet.

This can feel like pins and needles, numbness, tingling, cramps, extremely cold or hot feet, and some people even report feeling as though they are walking on balloons.

Limited sensation in our feet means that foot discomfort cannot be easily felt, which can lead to increased risk of injury eg: tightness of one’s shoes, stepping on sharp objects etc.

Once injured, open wounds are at risk of infection. How? Bacteria feed off high blood glucose levels. This means diabetes sufferers are not only at increased risk of injury and subsequent infection, but the infection can be accelerated because of their diabetes.

how do diabetes sufferers prevent this chaos from occurring in the first place?

Here are some simple practices that you can do at home:

1. Inspect your feet daily, noting any changes or discolouration.

2. Pat dry feet rather than rubbing, with particular attention to drying between the toes

3. Wear non constrictive socks

4. Wear protective shoes

5. Keep nails trim. Toenails tend to get thicker and harder with age so sometimes soaking feet in warm water for 15 - 30 minutes can help to soften them.

6. Moisturise regularly to keep skin soft and prevent cracks and callouses.

7. Report any developing abnormalities to your GP and or Podiatrist. They are at your service!

It’s also important to look after your overall health (whether you have diabetes or not) by:

monitoring and managing your blood glucose levels in conjunction with your GP
keeping as physically active as you are safely able
eating a healthy balanced diet with 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables
quitting smoking (if applicable!)
minimising alcohol intake.

If you are living with, or at risk of developing diabetes and live in the Central and Great Southern regions of Western Australia, our Credentialed Diabetes Educators are available either in-person or via telehealth. For further information on how our Diabetes Educators can support you, please click here.

Guest Author: Sue Youngman (Registered Nurse & Credential Diabetes Educator)

For more information go to https://www.footforward.org.au/keep-yout-feet-healthy/resources/

https://www.diabeteswa.com.au/manage-your-diabetes/program-and-resources/