Foot Care
Foot Care 101
According to the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), a partnership among the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and over 200 organizations, including the American Podiatric Medical Association, comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation rates by 45% to 85%.
Good foot health starts with:
Mental conditioning,Physical conditioning and Knowing & practicing the
Keep Your Feet…..Healthy ® Program:
- Keep Your Feet Clean
- Keep Your Feet Warm
- Keep Your Feet Protected
- Keep Your Feet Safe
- Keep Your Feet Conditioned
- Keep Your Feet, nails & cuticles Trimmed & Healthy.
- Keep Your Feet Working with exercise
- Keep Your Feet Balanced
- Keep Your Feet In Check
Keep Your Feet Clean
- Pay attention to your feet DAILY as you do when you brush your teeth and use mouthwash.
- Clean your feet by using a neutral Ph foot shampoo by applying in the bath or by soaking in lukewarm water if your feet are hard to reach.
- With an application pad or a soft brush, loosen and clean debris, fungus, bacteria with a loosening and cleansing oil .
- Pay special attention to the areas between your toes when cleaning and drying.
- Dry by blotting or patting– instead of rubbing.
Keep Your Feet Warm
- Wear socks that are made only of non-abrasive absorbent materials such as cotton or wool when you wear any type of footwear.
- Avoid elastic socks, garters, and socks that have holes or mends.
- If your feet are cold at night, wear loose-fitting socks to bed .
- Never warm them up by sitting by a fire
- Massaging your feet with a low friction conditioning foot cream can stimulate warmth
Keep Your Feet Protected with appropriate shoes and socks
- Never go barefoot. Always wear some type of footwear – slippers, shoes, sneakers.
- Socks should always be worn with shoes
- Shoes should fit well—with plenty of room for your toes.
- Avoid pointed or open-toed shoes. Sandals or thongs may cause problems.
- Feel inside the socks for prominent or irritating seams or stitching, which are absolutely not to be worn
- New shoes should always be broken in slowly. Start by wearing them for 1 hour on the first day. Increase the time by 1 hour each day, gradually building up to a full day.
- lan ahead. Purchase new shoes before your old ones wear out.
- Medicare provides coverage for therapeutic footwear such as, depth-inlay shoes, custom-molded shoes, and shoe inserts for people with diabetes who qualify under Medicare Part B.
Keep Your Feet Safe
- Before putting on your shoes, check inside for any foreign objects or tears in the lining.
- Avoid very hot or very cold water.
- Never use heating lamps, hot water bottles, heating pads, or hot compresses for any issues concerning the feet
- Never treat corns, bunions, calluses, blisters, or ingrown toenails yourself—you could cause a very serious problem. DO NOT DO BATHROOM SURGERY!
- Never use a lubricating cream in between the toes. There is no foot cream that is safe to purposely apply in between the toes.
- Contact your podiatrist or physician to treat these conditions or any foot problem that needs attention.
Keep Your Feet Conditioned and free from excessive dryness
- Use a conditioning foot cream everyday for dry skin, but don’t put any between your toes. Rub it in and wipe excess off, especially in between toes.
- Massaging conditioning cream into skin will increase circulation, resilience make the skin function as if it were more elastic.
- This helps in maintaining the proper PH of the skin and helps prevent the breakdown of the protective acid mantle layer of the skin.
- Apply especially on the dry callused areas on the bottom of the feet and on the cracked skin at the heels.
- DRY, CRACKED AND STIFF SKIN IS UNHEALTHY!
Keep Your Feet, nails and cuticles trimmed, healthy, clean and conditioned
- Always trim your toenails the way your podiatrist recommends. There is no one correct way to cut the nails. Each person has toenails that are shaped differently.
- Use an emery board to file any sharp edges.
- Don’t ever cut the toenails so short that the toe will bleed or become raw.
- Keep your cuticles conditioned and soft. Never allow them to become hard, dry and cracked as they can be a source of irritation and callus formation.
- Keep your toenails trimmed properly; never let them become too long.
- Keep your toenails and nail grooves free from debris, bacteria and fungus.
- Regular use of a neutral Ph antifungal foot shampoo may be effective in helping to eliminate debris, fungus and bacteria growing on or near healthy nails.
- Soaking in the antifungal foot shampoo may be preferable if it’s hard to reach your feet. Soaking is recommended for no more than 10 minutes or as directed by your podiatrist or physician.
- Be sure to follow up the use of the foot shampoo with the Loosening and cleansing oil and conditioning foot cream.
Keep Your Feet Working with exercise
- Foot exercises, massage with a low friction diabetic foot cream and the use of a foot rolling device are excellent ways to help keep those muscles and joints from becoming stiff.
- Walking, cycling, ankle rolls, flexing…these are all ways to improve circulation & flexibility. Check with your podiatrist and physician on the exercise right for you.
Keep Your Feet Balanced when walking
- Balance can be achieved by wearing proper foot support inserts inside of the proper shoes.
- Consult your podiatrist about the various types available including over-the-counter, custom molded & accommodative foot supports.
Keep Your Feet In Check
- Inspect your feet every day for cuts, blisters, or sores.
- Look between the toes for redness, ulcerations, or swelling
- Inspect the bottoms of feet with a hand mirror. Magnified mirrors make it easier to see.
- Visit your podiatrist/physician for regular check-ups and screenings for signs of abnormal pressure, loss of sensation and other forms of neuropathy, and poor circulation
- Educate yourself on Diabetes and foot health. Visit sites like The Diabetic Foot.com and other links provided on this site. Ask your podiatrist, endocrinologist or primary care physician for written information, local support groups, nutrition education, etc.
Visit Your Doctor Regularly
Be sure to have your feet examined at every visit.
Implementation of these principles requires:
A healthy attitude
Physical conditioning
Daily Inspection of your feet
Education about your feet
Appropriate shoes and inserts
Good foot skin and nail care
Regular foot massage, stretching and exercises