Besides the heart and blood vessels, there are other areas of the body affected by diabetes and two in particular are the legs and feet. When you have problems with your feet caused by the high blood sugar your quality of life is diminished.

Our nerves act as an alarm and warn us when something is wrong. If the nerves are damaged, we do not get that warning so the problem gets worse and we are not aware of it. Pain is not the only thing we might not feel with the damaged nerves, we might not be able to feel heat or cold. Or, we might not be able to feel a cut or a sore on the foot or leg since there is no feeling to that area. So, without feeling, the cut or sore can get worse and eventually become infected. This lack of feeling is called diabetic neuropathy.

Damaged nerves are not the only thing to worry about with diabetes, there is also decreased blood flow to the legs and feet. When this happens it is difficult for any sores or infections on the leg area to heal properly. This is known as peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Doctors will warn people with diabetes to not smoke because smoking makes PVD worse.

Because of the problems with nerve damage and decreased blood flow to the legs and feet, it is extremely important to check your feet every day for any cuts, blisters from bad fitting shoes, toes nails that are sore as the result of cutting too close, other sores or redness not easily noticed and swelling anywhere on the leg or foot.

Say for instance, you get a blister because your shoes do not fit properly. Well, you do not feel the pain from the blister because of the nerve damage. Since you do not feel the pain, the blister can easily become infected and since your blood sugar is high, the high blood sugar feeds the infection (germs). Now, the germs start growing because they are being fed and the infected area becomes a lot worse. The poor blood flow has slowed the healing process to your legs.

The biggest worry is that the infection will never heal and can actually cause gangrene. With gangrene, the skin and tissue around the infected area dies, becomes black, and smells. Now the doctors have a serious decision to make regarding your health. Gangrene will spread and destroy other tissue so it must be contained and the doctors do that by cutting off the infected area such as a toe or a foot. They may even have to cut off part of a leg. When body parts must be cut-off, it is called an amputation.

If you are diabetic, there are certain things you need to do that are critical to keeping your feet and legs healthy. These include:

1. Wash your feet everyday in warm water. Before you do, check the water temperature with your elbow. It is not a good idea to soak your feet.

2. Make sure you dry your feet thoroughly taking extra time drying between the toes.

3. Check your feet everyday. If you cannot bend to see properly, use a mirror or ask someone to help you.

4. Dry and itchy skin can cause serious problems. If you have a problem with dry skin put lotion on after you have washed and dried your feet, but do not put lotion between the toes.

5. Use a pumice stone or emery board to gently file calluses or corns. The best time is after you have taken your shower or bath.

6. It is a good idea to trim your toenails once a week or when you need to and the easiest time to do this is after washing them. You should cut the nail to the shape of the toe, but not too short. You should use an emery board to file the edges of the nail. If this is a problem, see a foot doctor (podiatrist).

7. To protect your feet, you need to wear either shoes or slippers and always with socks to keep from getting blisters.

8. Never wear knee-high stockings or socks below the knee if they are too tight.

9. Shoes that do not fit are a serious problem. When you shop for new shoes wait until the end of the day since your feet will be larger. When you do buy your shoes, break them in very slowly. Just spend an hour or two each day wearing the new shoes. It may take a few weeks to break them in properly, but take that extra time since the health of your feet depends on it.

10. Check the inside of your shoes before you put them on to see if there is anything sharp that might harm your foot.

You must take responsibility for keeping your feet and legs healthy when you have diabetes. By checking your feet daily, problems can be immediately taken care of by your physician before they become dangerous to your health.

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