If you suffer from diabetes, then it is imperative that you take special care of your feet. Any foot issues should be addressed immediately as they may lead to infections and even amputation. That is because people who have diabetes tend to have foot problems, often as a result of diabetic complications.
Diabetic Foot Concerns
Some of the health concerns may include neuropathy (nerve damage) and poor circulation. Neuropathy leads to a loss of sensation, which takes away your ability to notice pain. Therefore, you may not detect any irritations or injuries. Poor circulation in the feet causes problems with healing, which, in turn, can result in infection. Specialists who take care of diabetic foot and ankle infections in Racine, WI note that small foot problems can turn into serious health conditions if they are not assessed and treated right away.
How Some Ulcers Develop
For example, an ulcer in the skin can reach deep down into the bone. Because of neuropathy and poor circulation in the feet, blisters or cuts can readily turn into ulcers that cannot heal. This type of complication can lead to the amputation of a foot or a leg, or even death. When neuropathy is present, you may not be able to tell that your shoes are too tight or that your footwear is producing corns or calluses. If the corns or calluses are not treated, they can lead to the development of ulcers. The ulcers, in turn, can cause diabetic foot and ankle infections that are hard to treat.
Other foot problems that can lead to diabetic foot and ankle infections and other complications include dry cracked skin, ingrown toenails, bunions, and hammertoes. Charcot foot can be an especially serious condition. This complex foot deformity develops from a loss of sensation in the feet. An undetected broken bone leads to soft tissue injury. Because of neuropathy, any resulting foot pain goes unnoticed. The patient continues to walk on the fracture, which worsens the condition. This type of disabling issue is so severe that surgery and, in some cases, amputation becomes necessary.
