Diabetes and Your Feet

Diabetes and Your Feet

Nervous system damage (also called neuropathy) affects 60-70% of people with diabetes and is a major complication that may cause a loss of feeling in hands or feet.

With diabetic feet, a wound as small as a blister from ill-fitting shoes can cause a lot of damage. Diabetes impacts your circulatory system which means injuries are slow to heal. Furthermore, diabetics often have reduced sensation in their feet, so an injury may go unnoticed. When a wound doesn’t heal, it’s at an increased risk for infections that can spread quickly.

Areas of high pressure, like the ball of your feet, heels and tips of your toes, are especially susceptible to developing corns and calluses that may ulcerate and become wounds. Chiropodists are highly skilled in reducing calluses and corns to prevent these wounds from developing, as well as treating a variety of other diabetic foot issues.

Diabetes and Your Feet