Foot care is a vital piece of the diabetes management puzzle. You may have been told that taking care of your feet is necessary with diabetes, but if you are new to the diagnosis, you may not understand its importance. Diabetes will often disrupt the communication of nerves to and from your feet and the brain. This results in either feeling no pain in the foot or feeling a decreased amount of pain after a serious injury. Blood flow to the feet can also be disrupted, which may leave your feet lacking nutrients and other healing substances that travel via the blood. Management of diabetic feet is a service that our team of podiatrists Dr. Sara Bouraee, Dr. Jon Houseworth, Dr. Sun Byun, Dr. Daria Piotrowksi, and Dr. Shruti Vyas from Hampton Roads Foot and Ankle Specialists provides every day. Read on to learn the signs of a diabetic foot in Williamsburg, and Hampton, VA.
What Symptoms Can a Diabetic Foot Cause?
What would be a minor annoyance in the foot for an otherwise healthy person, can become a serious condition in a person with diabetes. An example of this is a small bruise, cut, or burn, that the diabetic patient isn't even aware of and does not promptly address, and it becomes infected or worse.
Peripheral neuropathy is the term used when pain signals are not properly relayed to the brain, resulting in not feeling the cut or burn to your foot when it happens. Diabetes can also disrupt the blood supply to your foot, a condition we call peripheral vascular disease (PVD). PVD prevents healing from taking place as it would in a healthy foot. Other issues that can show up on a diabetic foot are:
- Ulcers
- Bunions
- Corn
- Callouses
- Infections
- Ingrown toenails
The conditions listed above are not unique to diabetes but they tend to show up more often in diabetic patients due to a lack of blood supply. With diabetes, it is recommended to inspect your feet daily for cuts, scrapes, bruises, and burns. Also, pay attention to the appearance of your feet. If they begin to look different from discoloration or you notice a bruise that wasn't there before, call your podiatrist immediately.
Are There Other Signs To Look Out for in the Diabetic Foot?
When not properly managed, peripheral neuropathy and PVD can lead to the following symptoms in a diabetic foot in Williamsburg, VA.
- Numbness and tingling
- Weakness and/or pain and weakness in the calf when exercising or at rest
- Coldness and inability to warm up your feet
- Hair loss on the legs and feet
- Abnormally dry skin
- Gangrene (tissue death)
Contact Us
Receive diabetic foot care in Williamsburg, and Hampton, VA with one of our podiatrists Dr. Sara Bouraee, Dr. Jon Houseworth, Dr. Sun Byun, Dr. Daria Piotrowksi, and Dr. Shruti Vyas at Hampton Roads Foot and Ankle Specialists. Take care of your feet by scheduling a consultation with us by calling our Hampton office at (757) 224-7605 or our Williamsburg location at (757) 220-3311.