Diabetes

Did you know diabetes affects blood vessels and nerves in the feet?

Patients with diabetes are at greater risk of arterial disease than the general population, this is because raised blood sugar levels over a long period can cause damage to blood vessels in your feet which can lead to reduced blood flow and impaired healing to injury or infection.

All patients with diabetes should have their vascular status assessed regularly depending on their risk category.

From the moment patients enter the clinic, we’re already assessing by watching the way they walk into the room and sit on a chair. We inspect your footwear, hosiery and examine the integrity of your skin for hair growth, colour, texture, temperature, and swelling. Using our fingers we feel for two pulses (Dorsalis Pedis and Posterior Tibialis) on your feet. Then, we use a Doppler ultrasound device to listen to the sounds of the pulses to establish if they are triphasic, biphasic, or monophasic.

Diabetic patients are at an increased risk of diabetic neuropathy which is damage to the nerves on their feet. There are three types of nerve damage that can occur as a complication of poorly controlled diabetes – Motor Neuropathy – which affects foot posture leading to high-pressure areas, Autonomic Neuropathy – which affects sweat and sebaceous glands leading to dry cracked skin and Sensory Neuropathy – which leads to loss of sensation.

For diabetes foot care, please get in touch