Wide shoes are a must for many diabetics, not only for comfort but also for the individual’s health. Diabetes is a condition where sugar accumulates in the person’s blood, unable to get into the cells where it is used for energy. Whether this is because the person’s pancreas no longer produces insulin (type 1 diabetes) or because the person has become resistant to insulin (type 2 diabetes), over time high blood glucose can result in a number of complications, including poor circulation.

One of the symptoms of poor circulation is a loss of sensation in the extremities, usually starting in the feet. What this means is that many diabetics can’t feel it when their shoes pinch, cause blisters, or even sometimes if they happen to stub their toe and break it. As a result, many doctors recommend that their diabetic patients wear wide shoes to help prevent these kinds of problems.

The reason why doctors want their diabetic patients to be careful about injuring their feet is that poor blood circulation also means that their feet won’t heal as quickly as other parts of their body, and sometimes not at all. The lack of adequate circulation doesn’t just numb the nerves; it also disables the body’s defenses against infection. As a result, even a small injury such as a blister or a broken toe can end up turning into a serious, life-threatening condition that may result in the toe, foot, or even the entire leg needing to be amputated.

To prevent this serious complication of diabetes, it is extremely important for a diabetic to take extremely good care of their feet. There are several things that doctors recommend their diabetic patients do. First of all, it is important to wear comfortable, wide shoes to minimize how much their footwear rubs or pinches their feet. Also, diabetics should always break in new shoes slowly, starting with an hour and wearing them a little longer each day, so that they don’t hurt your feet if they are stiff.

In addition, it is important for a diabetic to inspect their feet every day for sores, blisters, ingrown toenails, and other injuries, no matter how minor. The reason you need to inspect your feet is because you might not feel the injury when it happens, and without a visual inspect it could get much worse before you notice. Also, if you have poor circulation it can also very quickly turn into something much more serious if left unmonitored and untreated. If your feet are numb, be sure you visit the doctor for any injuries, even if it seems like nothing more than an ingrown toenail, and be very careful to wear comfortable shoes that won’t hurt your feet even worse.

Finally, it is important to maintain as good control of your blood glucose as possible to prevent a loss of circulation to your feet. Poor circulation generally comes from chronically high blood sugars, so checking your blood sugar often will help you and your doctor adjust your treatment regimen to control your sugars as tightly as possible. Tighter control means fewer complications, and combined with comfortable shoes, can mean an almost nonexistent chance of encountering complications that affect your feet.

As you can see, as a diabetic there is a lot riding on how well you take care of your feet. Serious infections and perhaps even amputation can result if you don’t protect your feet from getting hurt, and closely monitor any injuries that do happen. Comfortable, wide shoes that don’t pinch or rub are therefore a crucial part of caring for your feet as a diabetic.

• 5 Useful Tips on How to Lower Blood Sugar Levels
• The Symptoms of Diabetes Mellitus
• Free Diabetic Diet Plans Online Can Help You Lose 30-50 Lbs
• How to Lose Weight So You Do Not Become a Diabetic
• Nutrition Plays a Vital Role in the Treatment of Diabetes
• Diabetes Pregnancy Diet For a Healthy Mother and Baby
• A Free Diabetic Diet Can Help You Lose 50lbs Fast!
• 7 Tips to Reverse the Diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome Or Syndrome X
• Type 2 Diabetes - Tools For Your Diabetic Diet

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.