A condition affected by ulceration, neuropathy, and/or peripheral arterial disease is known as a diabetic foot.
This is a condition that can cause lowered pain sensation, and affect the daily activities and confidence of a person. So, these are the causes, symptoms, and ways people can treat diabetic foot.
Causes
Many reasons can cause this condition. Some of these are chronic nerve damage, infection on an ingrown toenail, smoking, and bad footwear. In addition, this can lead to bad blood circulation and trauma to the foot.
How to Recognize the Symptoms
There are many ways to recognize the different symptoms and possible signs of a diabetic foot:
- Nails: thickened, brittle, ingrown, or discolored;
- Fungal infections on the skin of the feet;
- Toes: bent, irritated, bunions or turned toward the second toe;
- Cracked and dry skin on the feet.
On the other hand, even peripheral neuropathic symptoms are also connected with diabetic foot. These symptoms include:
- Lowered temperature and pain perception;
- Numbness;
- Burning or a tingling sensation;
- Sensitive to touch;
- Sharp cramps and pains;
- Loss of coordination and balance;
- Ulcer;
- Deformities;
- Infection.
How to Treat Diabetic Foot at Home
Even though doctors can prescribe medications, we can also take care of the feet at home as an additional way of treatment. All we need to do is keep our feet clean and dry at all times, especially between the toes where infections, moisture, sweat, and bacteria tend to stack.
So, it may help us avoid getting any fungal infections. Furthermore, we must make sure to pick the right size of footwear. Emedicine Health claims that proper shoes affect circulation immensely.
If we have trouble picking the right footwear, we should consider consulting a diabetic doctor who can recommend the right stores for us.
Moreover, try taking vitamin D, because Web MD claims that this vitamin protects from nerve pain. According to research by Britain’s University of Sheffield, those with diabetic neuropathy who took vitamin D, had their ore pain reduced.
Plus, we can get 600-80 (IU) of vitamin D from supplements and food.
This condition is very difficult because it can affect the daily activities and the confidence of a person. That is why it is important to know and coordinate this condition and evaluate its effects.
Source: Health Digezt | Medline Plus | Medicine Net | Cleveland Clinic | Mayo Clinic
