Gosford Podiatry - Phone 4320 3240
Long Jetty Podiatry - Phone 4336 7757
Wyong Podiatry - Phone 4394 8279
Erina Podiatry - Phone 4367 9612 & 4367 9600
Woy Woy Podiatry - Phone 4344 8475
Why Podiatry Services Are Important For People Who Have Diabetes Mellitus.
Diabetes (or more correctly, diabetes mellitus) is a chronic disease that affects up to 6% of the population (higher in the older age groups). Insulin is a hormone that helps the body deal with sugar (glucose) in the diet. When diabetes is present, either the body produces less or no insulin (Type 1) or the body tissues are resistant to the effects of diabetes (Type 2). This results in higher levels of glucose in the blood, which can damage a whole range of body tissues and organs.
The foot is especially affected by diabetes because:
- Diabetes damages the nerves (damage can occur to the foot and not be detected) - this is called peripheral neuropathy.
- Diabetes also affect the circulation. Poor circulation can affect the ability of the body to heal when damage occurs.
- Those with diabetes are more prone to infection - the body's processes that normally fight infection respond slower and often have trouble getting to infections due to the poor circulation.
- Diabetes can also affect the joints, making them stiffer
Other diabetes complications that can also affect the foot, for example, kidney disease (affects proteins that are involved in wound healing) and eye disease (can't see the foot to check for damage).
As a consequence of these factors a number of things can go wrong:
- The foot may get damaged and you do not know about (for example, your shoe rubs a sore onto a toe that gets infected - you can not feel it because of the peripheral neuropathy - you can not heal very well due to the infection and poor circulation).
- Foot ulcer are common (see below)
- Infections can spread
- The ultimate of this process is an amputation. Diabetes is the main cause of amputations.
Charcot's joints is another complication of diabetes in the foot, especially if peripheral neuropathy is present - the neuropathy cause a numbness (imagine spraining your ankle and not knowing you have done this. You will continue to walk on it - imagine the damage that this would do. This is what happens in a Charcot foot)
Foot ulcers are a common complication of the "diabetic foot". They allow a portal for infection to occur. Ulcers are caused by too much pressure on an area and the skin just "breaks down". They can occur under corns and callus. Healing can take a while and its is imperative that pressure is removed from the area and good wound dressings are used.
