Have You Checked Your Feet?
Lately I’ve been thinking of my diabetes self care, focusing mainly on my feetf. I have never given much thought to my feet. They are just feet. Mine are not pretty. They have rough skin on the heels. I wash them everyday. I trim my toenails as I need to but I have never followed the guideline that says always cut them straight across. Once in a while I will paint my toenails and admittedly, they look nice then. Now that I really think about it, my feet are more like man feet than woman feet.
Why is foot care important?
As you can tell, my feet have never meant anything to me before. So why am I focusing on them now? Because I have read a few articles here on type2diabetes.com about foot care and why it’s important. The articles are factual but I never really thought they applied to me. But here’s the part that has changed me, that has changed my routine. I have read the comments from people, real people here, who are experiencing serious complications involving their feet, sometimes amputations. It’s never been more real to me as I read comments on others post. I’m a person with diabetes and it should be real to me. Diabetes carries with it risks for complications.
What happened when I checked my feet
Here’s my foot confession. I walk barefoot in the house, on my porch, on the beach. I don’t particularly like shoes or sandals once I’m home from work. They are off at the door for the day never to return unless I need to drive or go for a walk that was missed. Since I committed to ‘taking a look’ at my feet I decided the time was now.
Somewhat nervous, I checked my feet. Immediately, I found two slivers that I didn’t know were there. I removed them. They were surface ones, not deep ones. I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t feel them. Next. Rough, dry cracked heels. I could be an ad on tv for foot cream. Since I don’t really like the feel of cream on my feet in the first place, I had to tough that one out. I put on cream and socks, also not my favorite, to keep the cream in place. They were quite soft the next day and splinter free.
Tips for diabetes foot care
Reflecting back to the comments many of you have posted, I have changed the care of my feet:
- I inspect them daily
- I apply cream at night to avoid the dry cracked skin that can allow infection to set in
- I trim my toenails straight across
- I have asked a friend to give me the name of her podiatrist to further assess my feet and teach me good foot care
- I will TRY to avoid walking barefoot but I know I will struggle with this, a work in progress I guess
I thank all of you who offered your thoughts, your experiences and advised of what can happen to those of us who think foot care is not important. You have brought me into the light. Hugs!
Join the conversation