How to Protect Your Feet From Diabetic Ulcers

When you get diagnosed with diabetes, you know that some things about your life need to change. You’ll start monitoring your insulin levels, and you might adjust your diet. You also need to start looking down more.

That last bit might seem odd. However, looking down at your feet helps you lower your risk for one of the biggest challenges of diabetes: amputations. 

Diabetes affects the nerves and blood vessels in your feet. This makes you more likely to sustain a sore or wound and for it to get infected. Unfortunately, infections can lead to an amputation. 

That’s why our team at Rogers Foot & Ankle Institute offers dedicated diabetic foot care at our offices in American Fork and Saratoga Springs, Utah. 

We help you monitor your feet. If any issues arise, we work with you to properly care for them to minimize your risk of serious complications as much as possible.

You need to do your part to protect your feet, too. That means doing these four things. 

#1: Check and wash your feet daily

Your risk of an amputation goes up if you have diabetes. Fortunately, proactivity on your part can help to offset that risk. 

The major problem when it comes to diabetes and your feet is ulcers. These are wounds or sores that develop. They might be from something as simple as a callus. However, because diabetes affects the nerves in your feet, you might not feel the issue as it develops. In fact, time might pass, and that ulcer — confined to the often-damp environment inside your shoes — might become infected. 

You significantly lower your risk of serious foot problems by checking and washing your feet daily. Do it when you first get out of bed each morning, in the shower, or when you get home and take off your shoes for the evening. Find a time that works for you and stick with it.

Daily checks ensure that if you develop an ulcer, you can get care for it immediately. Furthermore, keeping your feet clean dramatically lowers the likelihood of any ulcer infection.

#2: Trim your toenails the right way

Ingrown toenails can create openings for infection in your feet. To prevent these problems, trim your toenails regularly. Just as importantly, trim them straight across. Rounding the edge of your toenail gives it a curve that can cut into your skin and start an ingrown nail. 

#3: Choose the right socks and footwear

Keeping your feet comfortable and dry lowers your risk of ulcers and infections. Choose shoes that fit well and have a roomy toe box. You never want to feel like your feet are squeezed in your shoes. That can cause blisters and calluses, which can lead to ulcers. 

Also, choose socks that help your feet stay dry. Infections thrive in damp environments. If you need to change your socks partway through the day, stash a pair in your bag, glovebox, desk drawer, or somewhere else convenient. 

#4: If you smoke now, it’s time to quit

Smoking makes it harder for your body to perform some of its functions. That includes wound healing. So, if you develop a diabetic ulcer, the already slow recovery process gets even longer. That puts you at a higher risk for infection.

This is true because smoking damages your blood vessels, which can reduce circulation to your feet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directly connects smoking with an increased risk of amputation. 

These four steps go a long way toward lowering your risk of diabetes-related foot problems. But you don’t have to navigate foot care on your own. For support here, contact our team at the Rogers Foot & Ankle Institute by calling us at (801) 756-4200.