In the 1986 Tom Hanks/Jackie Gleason movie ‘Nothing In Common’, Hanks is confronted with the divorce of his parents while understanding his own issues with relationships. The underlying story of the movie is how the relationships between parents and children and the relationship of their parents that children see can have far reaching effects. But there is a subtext to the movie that is a bit more prescient on Alert Day, the American Diabetes Association’s efforts for people to understand the risks of Type 2 Diabetes and the risks this disease poses.
As Hanks takes his father out for a night on the town, they eventually end up in a jazz club. Gleason, as the irascible father, is joyously dancing around the club when the band signals the night is over. As they prepare to leave, father tells son that he has lost his slippers. After locating the slippers the son proceeds to put them on his father’s feet only to discover that his father has extreme gangrene on both feet. The father has been keeping his diabetes as an untreated secret with devastating complications. Eventually the father and son grow closer but the lesson of the subtext is not about renewing friendships.
Type 2 Diabetes, or adult onset diabetes, is a sneaky disease that can appear when you least expect it with heart-breaking results. If left unchecked and untreated, the long-range effects can include a variety of other health problems that can affect the heart, the brain, the teeth, the eyes and especially the feet. In the case of the gangrenous condition of Jackie Gleason’s characters feet, the unchecked and untreated diabetes results in the amputation of two toes. For many with gangrene due to untreated diabetes, amputation could claim part of all of the foot and even part of the leg.
Understanding Your Risks
When a person is diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, the next step should include appointments with specialists who have expertise in treating diabetic symptoms in the areas of the body they specialize in. In the area of feet, the concern is for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a condition where the nerves in the feet are compromised due to the effects of diabetes. The symptoms and issues surrounding diabetic foot neuropathy are many. From the very simple feelings of pins and needles in the feet and the feeling that the feet are cold even when warm to the touch to cuts and wounds that do not heal properly.
The statistics that exist about diabetes and the American populace are frightening. Some of the more startling ones include:
- 1 million Americans have diabetes (9.3% of the population) with 21.0 million diagnosed and a startling 8.3 million or 28% of those with diabetes being undiagnosed and very likely untreated as well.
- Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States
- Including both healthcare costs and loss of productivity in the workforce, diabetes has cost an estimated $245,000,000,000.
There are many treatment options that can help Type 2 diabetes sufferers’ deal with foot issues from topical treatments to specialized footwear. Podiatrists, like those on the staff at Country Foot Care, are experts in treating the conditions that are common and most troublesome for diabetics. Once a person has received a positive diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes or even if they are screened as being pre-diabetic, they would be wise to seek out more in-depth examinations for their feet as well as their eyes and their heart.
Educating Yourself Is The First Step
Type 2 Diabetes can easily be diagnosed and the sooner the better. Through the American Diabetes Association Alert Day on March 24th and during Diabetes Awareness month in November, the daily education process that the ADA conducts is put into a bright spotlight. Working together we can begin the march towards stopping this devastating condition that has wreaked havoc on our society.
For more information about Alert Day, click here to visit the Alert Day page on the American Diabetes Association website. If you have been diagnosed as having Type 2 Diabetes or being pre-diabetic and you want to ensure that your feet are in their best health possible, you can make an appointment to meet with Country Foot Care doctors by calling either of our offices. For those who prefer to handle appointments online, the MAKE AN APPOINTMENT button at the top of this page will enable you to schedule an appointment and download new patient forms that you can complete before you come in.
