Caring Your Feet When You're Diabetic

Dry skin, loss of feeling, reduced circulation, sores that don't heal--all these and more can happen to the diabetic foot. If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, please pay attention to your ankles and feet to avoid serious medical complications and procedures. Your foot doctors at Associated Foot & Ankle Centers of Northern Virginia in Stafford, VA, will tell you the best ways to keep your feet feeling good and walking well. It's what these concerned board-certified podiatric surgeons do best.

The diabetic foot

It differs from other feet. Loss of feeling, reduced circulation, neuropathy (nerve) pain, itchy, dry skin and poor wound healing may complicate the health and function of the lower extremities in people with diabetes. So your Stafford foot doctor urges you to see him or her annually if your blood sugars are well-controlled and more often if you struggle to keep your levels within normal limits.

Why are routine podiatric exams important for the diabetic? Basically, it helps to have trained, professional eyes on your feet and ankles. Additionally, your foot doctor in Stafford takes care of nail problems, wounds, corns, calluses and other foot issues safely. While at-home "foot surgery" for a callus or ingrown toenail is unsafe for anyone, it really threatens the well-being of the diabetic who gets infections more easily and heals from wounds much more slowly than his or her normal counterpart.

Routine care at home

People with diabetes should employ these common sense strategies from the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons when caring for their feet at home:

In-office care

Come to Associated Foot & Ankle Centers of Northern Virginia for routine diabetic foot exams or anytime you have a foot health concern. Untreated, even small problems can lead to fractures, ulcers and eventual amputation if not treated promptly by your caring foot doctor in Stafford or Lake Ridge, VA.

Associated Foot & Ankle Centers of Northern Virginia, PC

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