Daily Diabetic Foot Care: 7 Ways You Can Reduce Your Risk of Developing Ulcers

Diabetes is a common, chronic disease that interferes with the way your body produces or uses the hormone insulin, making way for high blood sugar. If you live with it, tending to your foot health is important. 

Up to one-third of people with diabetes will deal with a foot ulcer at some point. While these open wounds are common and potentially dangerous to your health, they’re also often treatable and, better yet, preventable.

Drs. Edward Buro, Christine Peterson, and Rosario Saccomanno at Mayfair Foot Care in Commack, New York, provide diabetic foot care and wound care to help you lead a full, healthy life while managing the disease.

What causes diabetic foot ulcers

Anything that causes a wound on your foot can lead to diabetes-related complications. The injuries themselves aren’t unique; how your body responds to them can fuel more serious problems. 

In people who don’t have diabetes, a minor cut on the foot is typically just that — a wound that heals without much effort. When you have diabetes, poor circulation to your legs and feet can interfere with healing. 

On top of that, nerve damage, known as diabetic neuropathy, can reduce or completely numb pain and pressure sensations. So you might not even notice that you stepped on something sharp, like a glass shard, or that you developed a cut. That makes it easy for the wound to go untreated for some time — until that is, complications unfold.

Other factors that raise your risk for diabetic foot wounds include poor blood sugar management, obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure.

How to prevent diabetic foot ulcers

A foot ulcer, when you have diabetes, is a lot more than a simple wound. Roughly half of the ulcers become infected. And 20% of infected ulcers lead to amputation of part or all of the foot.

Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do to lower your risk of diabetic foot ulcers and their complications, such as:

1. Following your diabetes care plan
2. Inspecting your feet daily
3. Scheduling routine podiatry checkups
4. Wearing supportive, properly fitting shoes
5. Quitting smoking
6. Losing excess weight through a healthy diet and exercise
7. Seeking prompt care for any signs of a foot ulcer

Our experts at Mayfair Foot Care recommend scheduling an exam at least once a year for optimal foot health when you have diabetes. Your provider can walk you through specific lifestyle habits for keeping your feet healthy and wound-free and detect any ulcer signs you may not have noticed. We can also recommend ideal shoes and custom orthotics to ensure plentiful comfort and support for your feet.

To learn more about preventing diabetic foot ulcers or get the compassionate, personalized care you need, call Mayfair Foot Care or schedule an appointment using our online booking feature today.