Diabetes: Why Healthy Feet Is So Important

Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high. It is a lifelong condition that can lead to several serious health conditions including heart disease and strokes.

There are 2 main types of diabetes:

• type 1 diabetes – where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
• type 2 diabetes – where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not react to insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have type 2.

If a person has diabetes, keeping their feet healthy is very important. Allowing problems to develop can lead to a range of complications, some minor, others very serious.

Around 10% of people will develop a diabetic foot ulcer at some point in their lives. Currently, 300 new ulcers are diagnosed every week and around 130 amputations take place each week, with an estimated 80% of these being preventable. Amputations and ulcers have a huge detrimental effect on quality of life with up to 70% of people dying within 5 years of an amputation and 50% of people dying within the same period after developing a foot ulcer. People with diabetic foot ulcers may have some degree of cognitive impairment and so may find it more difficult to manage their foot care themselves.

Our foot health practitioners within clinic are trained to spot any problems with diabetics feet. They thoroughly assess the patients feet during every visit and help them to maintain healthy feet through regular foot care appointments.

If you or anyone you know has diabetes and would like help with managing their foot care, book an appointment with one of our qualified professionals. Contact us or call us on 01733 571555.