Diabetics

At James Pascoe Podiatry, it is our opinion that the foot care of those suffering diabetes is one of the most important services we provide.

Good foot care is vital to any diabetic, as the consequences of neglect and ill treatment are very serious.

An estimated 3.2 million Australians have diabetes or pre-diabetes, with another 280 people diagnosed every day.

If you have diabetes you need to take very good care of your feet as diabetes can damage the nerves and blood supply to your feet, which can lead to amputation in serious cases.

The symptoms of nerve damage and poor blood supply includes:

• Numbness of feet or legs
• Coldness of feet or legs
• Pins and needles (tingling) sensation within the feet
• Burning pains in the feet or legs, more so at night when lying down
• Sharp leg cramps, even after walking short distances
• Feet appearing a reddish-blue colour
• Cuts that are slow to heal

It is important to know the risk and take good care of your feet to prevent serious problems that can result in amputation.

The fully qualified podiatrists at James Pascoe Podiatry can perform a simple and painless check of your feet to determine your risk of developing serious problems.

The risk of damage is greater if:

• Your diabetes is long-term
• Your blood glucose levels have remained high for extended periods
• You are a smoker
• You are inactive

You will be categorised as either low risk or high risk. If you are diagnosed as high risk, it is important to have your feet checked every 3 – 6 months.

If categorised as low risk, you should have you feet checked annually as low risk can quickly turn to high risk with few obvious symptoms.