Diabetic foot care and how to avoid diabetic foot pain

The cause of diabetes is the inability of the body to reduce blood sugar levels. This is either because the body cannot create insulin or the body is resistant to the insulin that is produced. Insulin is the natural hormone secreted by the body to reduce sugar levels in the blood. There are serious consequences to having high blood sugar levels. For instance, without being able to get sugar to the body's vital organs, a diabetic could become unconscious or fall into a coma. Thus part of the ongoing treatment for diabetes is to administer synthetic insulin or to take medicine. However, diabetics can also suffer from long term complications of the disease and have to care for parts of there body's that are susceptible to these complications. The feet are particularly vulnerable to long term complications and most diabetics are instructed on foot care if they want to avoid diabetic foot pain.

Long term complications due to diabetes affect the nervous and circulatory systems. Thus certain parts of the nervous system are not as sensitive to pain or do not relay messages back to the brain or central nervous system. This is known as diabetic neuropathy. In turn, the circulatory system cannot move blood around the body as easily because the consistency of the blood is thicker due to high levels of sugar or the arteries get clogged making circulation difficult.

The outward signs of these complications manifest in the extremities of the body  - the feet and hands. This means that the feet and hands are often in poor condition unless cared for. As the hands are visible there is a normal tendency to notice and care for any hand problems. The same cannot be said for the feet. They will pick up cuts and bruises that will take longer to heal. As the feet cannot be seen these cuts and bruise often go unnoticed. This is compounded by the fact that the nervous system around the feet may be weak and does not inform the body (with pain) of these cuts and bruising.

Thus there is much emphasis on diabetic foot care. This means thorough examination of the feet at least once a day. The person should also wash and dry the feet thoroughly to avoid infections occurring. They should keep nails and calluses trimmed to avoid aggravating or causing any cuts on the feet.

They should also try to keep the feet as comfortable as possible. Diabetic shoes and socks have been created that aim to keep the feet comfortable yet provide enough protection to the feet. The shoes are generally wider than normal shoes to allow air to circulate around the feet. The leather of the shoe is generally softer too. Diabetic socks are made from natural fibers so as not to cause irritation of the feet and calves.

Complications with the feet are one of the most common problems with diabetes so it is important to develop a regular foot care regime and have the discipline to stick with it to avoid diabetic foot pain.

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