Did you know there was a foot health awareness month? Well there is and it is April. As the weather continues to warm up, more and more folks will be sporting flip-flops and other open toed shoes, so wouldn’t it be nice if all of the bare feet soon to be on daily display were in perfect health and looking good?

The reality is that, unless our job is professional mattress tester (Sleepy’s actually does hire one each year) we are on our feet. If there’s a physical issue or injury affecting our feet or ankles, life simply becomes a lot less fun. The issues cover a large spectrum including flat feet, bunions, hammertoes, heel pain, ingrown nails, or toenail fungus just to name a few. None are pleasant to deal with and some are definitely not pleasant to have on display.

While many foot issues are due to our hectic lives as adults, another cause of foot and ankle issues might be a childhood injury picked up as part of a team or just playing in the neighborhood. We’ve all experienced something with our feet, so the question then becomes what can be done about any of it?

Being good to your feet

There are some simple and basic things that we can do to care for our feet on a daily basis such as:

  1. Have good foot cleaning habits – A good wash-and-dry routine for your feet will lessen the chances you have to deal with things like athlete’s foot, foot odor, or other bacteria and fungi.
  2. Moisturize everyday – Dry skin can become problematic if left unchecked, and that goes for the feet just like anywhere else on the body. And this goes for the guys as well as the ladies!
  3. Wear the right shoes – Many people today wear improper shoes. Some for fashion, others because they think one shoe or sneaker is just like the next one. Tight shoes or sneakers can worsen things like bunions, or even distort your toe shape and cause pain. Worn shoes or sneakers do not provide the proper support as they do when they are brand new so they should be replaced regularly. It’s also important to alternate the shoes you wear regularly, including heel heights in order to protect your Achilles tendon from shortening.
  4. Choose the right socks – While we almost certainly put way less thought into the socks we wear as compared to the shoes, they matter a great deal. They protect your feet from wear and tear, and they also absorb and wick away moisture. In fact, as you get older, good, cushy, shock-absorbing socks become even more important.  Maybe those folks who boldly sport socks with sandals are onto something!

Diabetes and Foot Health

Your foot health awareness is crucial. Because diabetes can damage nerve endings and blood vessels in the feet, it becomes a possibility that one might not even notice when her feet are injured. Thus, a more pro-active approach to being aware of the condition of one’s feet becomes paramount. Left unattended, foot problems for diabetics can lead to ulcers, infections or worse. Proper foot care can help those with diabetes prevent most of these issues and catch other issues before it is too late.

Of course, one of the most important steps you take for good overall health is to exercise. You need not be an extreme athlete as getting out and enjoying a walk is a simple way to improve both your physical and mental health. During National Foot Health Awareness Month, though, just take the extra couple of minutes to think about your feet. And should your brisk walk take you into any of our Country Foot Care locations, make sure to take advantage of our medical shoe store and our knowledgeable and skilled physicians.

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:

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.