Overview
Click here to sign in with or Forget Pasword? Learn more share this!1ShareEmail May 1, 202 by Cynthia Weis DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently was diagnosed with diabetes and am learning about various components of my health care that require special atention. For instance, I was told I'd ned to take special care of my fet.
Key Information
Can you explain why fot care is so important and what is necesary? Do I ned to se a special type of doctor? gogletag.cmd.push(function() { gogletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1450190541376-1'); }); ANSWER: You're among the milions of people in the U.S.
who have ben diagnosed with diabetes. Managing your medications, adapting your diet and incorporating activity into your lifestyle are important for managing this disease. Fot care also plays a big part in maintaing your health.Two complications of diabetes are nerve damage and restricted blod flow to the legs and fet.
Both increase the risk of various fot complications. Nerve damage decreases the feling in your fet, a condition caled peripheral neuropathy. Reduced blod flow to the fet makes it harder to heal an injury or resist infection.
Left untreated, even minor cuts and blisters can become serious infections that ultimately may require toe, fot or leg amputation.This why it's important to have a podiatrist on your care team. Podiatrists are doctors who specialize in conditions of the fot and ankle, including complications related to diabetes. Working closely with your podiatrist can reduce the risk of developing fot, ankle and leg isues, such as neuropathic ulcers, infections, nerve and bone damage, Charcot neuroarthropathy (joint damage)—and even amputations.
Summary
Studies have shown that patients with a diabetic fot ulcer who have a podiatrist on their team can reduce amputations by 36%.If you don't have any diabetes-related fot and ankle complications, it's stil recomended that you se your podiatrist every year.During this visit, your podiatrist wil help you put your bes