Diabetic Foot Care

About 15% of people with diabetes develop foot problems like nerve damage, foot ulcers, or Charcot foot — all problems that increase your chances of needing an amputation later. At North Point Orthopaedics, with offices in Munster and Crown Point, Indiana, the diabetic foot care experts provide comprehensive care for every type of problem that affects the feet of diabetics. With proper preventive care and quick responses to new issues, you can keep your feet healthy and avoid amputation. Call the office nearest to you or use the online scheduling link to make your appointment now.

What is diabetic foot care?

Diabetic foot care is medical foot management for people with diabetes. Diabetes often causes nerve and vascular system problems that can have particularly negative consequences for the feet. 

Diabetic foot care can help you to prevent and recover from those issues. That’s why all people with diabetes need this type of care to stay healthy. 

How does diabetes cause damage in the feet?

The two main problems found in diabetic feet include:

Peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage in the peripheral nerves that provide sensation in your feet. The most common peripheral neuropathy effect is numbness. Due to numbness, you might not notice when you step on a sharp object, burn your foot, or injure your foot in other ways. 

Peripheral neuropathy can cause such severe nerve damage that it leads to injuries like foot fractures. After walking on fractured bones, the foot arch can eventually bow out, a condition called Charcot foot. 

Peripheral vascular disease (PVD)

PVD is a circulatory issue that happens when the blood vessels narrow. This significantly cuts down on the amount of blood that reaches your feet, so you might experience claudication (lower leg cramping when you walk).

If you have PVD, your feet aren’t getting enough blood to heal so it may take a long time to heal after a cut or other skin injury.

When peripheral neuropathy and PVD strike simultaneously, serious complications like infected foot ulcers can develop. Untreated, you might eventually need an amputation for this type of issue, but diabetic foot care at North Point Orthopaedics can help you avoid diabetic foot complications.

What does diabetic foot care include?

Diabetic foot care is always customized for your needs. In general terms, it includes:

Preventive care

Preventive care involves comprehensive foot exams at least once a year. And, your provider teaches you how to examine your feet at home every day. 

Other types of preventive care can include daily foot baths, custom orthotics, prescription diabetic shoes, and routine nail care. 

Treatment of diabetic foot issues

Immediate treatment of any new issues, like corns, calluses, blisters, and ingrown toenails, is important in resolving your problem before more serious issues like ulcers develop. 

If you have a foot ulcer, you may need wound care, which can involve topical dressings, skin debridement (dead skin removal), skin grafts, and other care that helps you heal rapidly. 

If you have Charcot foot or other more serious complications of diabetes, you may need surgery to repair and restore the bones and soft tissues in your foot. 

North Point Orthopaedics provides the best diabetic foot care in Northwest Indiana, so book your appointment online or call the office nearest to you now.