Foot Self

Diabetes self care

Diabetes self care is an important part of the managing of this chronic disease.  There are several areas of self care.  These include:

* Foot care
* Dental care
* Eye care

The diabetic will need to learn all they can about foot health care.   Diabetics are very prone to infections and other problems with their feet.  This is caused by nerve damage in the feet and the narrowing of blood vessels in the legs.  These two problems when combined can cause a insignificant cut to become a gigantic infection as well as leading to gangrene of the foot.  Gangrene is a term that means the tissue in the area has died and because it can spread to other areas quickly usually leads to amputation of the foot or leg.  But the good news is that all these problems can be prevented.  

If a patient has nerve damage in a foot, they might not be able to tell when they have a small cut or skin damage and an infection could start before it is even noticed.  And with poor circulation, when there is a cut or any damage, there is not enough blood flowing to the foot to fight the infection.

This is way proper foot care is vitally important.   This includes regularly washing and inspection of the feet, carefully checking the feet for small cuts, small breaks in the skin, blisters, calluses or corns.  Calluses or corns should be treated by a physician or nursing staff.  Small cuts can be treated at home with antibiotic ointments.

Diabetes oral care is another very important area of management for people who have this chronic disease.   Because of the problems with blood sugar, diabetics have a higher than normal amount of dental care problems.  This is because the diabetes when not under control reduces the number of white blood cells to fight infections in the mouth.

There are several areas that cause problems.  One of these is the problem of dry mouth caused by decreased saliva.  This can cause tooth decay, mouth ulcers and infections.  Help for this problem can include chewing sugarless gum, having sugarless mints available, frequent sips of water or melting ice chips in the mouth.    

Another major problem is gum disease commonly known as gingivitis and periodontitis.  This is caused by fewer white blood cells to fight infections as well as the thickening of blood vessels which slows the flow of blood which carries nutrients to the mouth area and waste away from the mouth area.  Gum disease is caused by infections of the gums so these can cause gum disease to be much more severe and harder to control in people who suffer with diabetes.  

Eye care is another area that diabetic’s need to take care of.  Diabetic retinopathy can develop which can lead to bad vision and even blindness.  This is when the small blood vessels at the back of the eye become weak and this weakness can lead to blood and other fluids leaking into the retina of the eye. So, it is quite important for the diabetic to schedule regular eye exams so the blood vessels in the eye can be examined.  

Diabetes self care is an important part of the managing of this chronic disease.  Every diabetic should not only see their primary doctor to manage their blood glucose levels, but need to also schedule regular visits with their dentist and eye doctor. They also need to learn self care in these three areas.

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