Your feet need special treatment when you have diabetes

[TexasTowelie]

By Chris Morrisroe


There are an estimated 30.3 million people with diabetes in the United States, with approximately 7.2 million individuals not aware they have the disease.

Uncontrolled diabetes poses a major threat to vital organs and other body tissues, which heal more slowly because of the disease.

Diabetes is the inability to manufacture or properly use insulin, impairing the body’s ability to regulate sugar (glucose) levels which provide energy to cells and tissues throughout the body. Therefore, it is a disease that affects many parts of the body and is associated with serious complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations. The leading cause of hospitalization among people with diabetes is foot ulcers and infections, but most of those problems are largely preventable.

More than 60 percent of all nontraumatic lower-limb amputations worldwide are related to complications from the disease, according to the American Diabetes Association. For that reason, the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association (MPMA) has tips to help diabetic patients take better care of their feet.

Read more: https://www.theoaklandpress.com/lifestyles/health/your-feet-need-special-treatment-when-you-have-diabetes/article_7492b5ee-0577-11ea-b6d8-b7347849dfb1.html