Why Your Feet Need Extra Attention

Diabetes can affect the nerves in your legs and feet. Nerves carry feeling from your feet to your brain.

When nerves are affected, your feet may not warn you well. It is like a smoke alarm with a weak battery. It may look fine but stay quiet when you need it.

A foot stands on a pebble, joined to a brain by an orange nerve. With a clear signal, green pulses travel up the nerve and the brain lights up. When frayed, the nerve has worn gaps and the pulses fade. Then a shoe covers the foot with a pebble inside, and nothing reaches the brain. Last, the shoe is tipped out and the pebble is found in a daily check.

Diabetes can also narrow and stiffen the blood vessels in your legs and feet. Blood vessels carry oxygen and immune cells to your feet. Immune cells are the germ fighters.

When less blood gets through, fewer helpers arrive. Healing slows down. Small infections get more time to grow.

Small problems can grow when no one notices them. A blister or scrape may seem minor and easy to forget.

A quick look every day, even when nothing feels wrong, helps you spot changes sooner. Check for cuts, blisters, scrapes and any spot that looks new.

The check takes two to three minutes. Ask your care team which changes they want to hear about.

Key takeaways

• Diabetes can affect the nerves and blood vessels in your feet.
• A small problem can grow when no one notices it.
• A quick daily look can show a change while it is still small.

Try it

Today, take two to three minutes to look over both feet, and notice anything that is new.