When you have diabetes, your feet need special attention. High blood sugar levels can damage nerves and reduce blood flow to your feet, making it harder to feel and heal from injuries. Without proper care, even minor issues such as blisters or ingrown toenails can lead to serious complications.
Our experienced Wichita podiatrist, Dr. Benjamin Weaver, understands the challenges you face and provides excellent care to help keep your feet healthy. Here, learn about how his team at Central Kansas Podiatry Associates provides thorough exams and custom shoes and inserts to keep you on your feet.
Our Comprehensive Diabetic Foot Exam
If you have diabetes, regular foot exams are essential for preventing diabetes-related complications. These complications often start in your feet and may not cause recognizable symptoms because many patients with diabetes lose feeling in their feet due to neuropathy. When you’re not aware of a foot injury or wound, the potential for serious problems, including infection, increases.
A comprehensive diabetic foot exam (CDFE) at Central Kansas Podiatry Associates can help find problems that may lead to serious infection and amputation if not treated early. Having high blood sugar can damage the nerves and blood vessels in your feet and make your feet feel tingly or numb. You may lose complete feeling in your feet. When you don’t feel pain, you may not notice a cut, a blister, or an open wound that, without treatment, could become an ulcer that’s susceptible to infection.
The Arche LEAP Vitals Solution
Diabetic conditions that affect the feet can become dangerous very quickly. Many patients face amputation because their foot wounds went unnoticed for too long and became infected. Amputation is a terrifying complication of diabetes that no patient wants to face. But, approximately 20 – 50% of patients who have a lower-extremity amputation will have another of the opposite extremity within five years.
As part of a comprehensive foot exam, Central Kansas Podiatry Associates uses Arche lower extremity amputation prevention (LEAP) Vitals to help identify risks and monitor foot health, especially for high-risk patients with diabetes. This technology is used by many healthcare professionals to detect early signs of diabetic foot ulcers. With devices like DermaStat for measuring skin moisture and IRStat for skin temperature, we can detect and help provide early intervention and complication prevention to help reduce the number of amputations.
What to Expect at Your Foot Exam
During your visit with Dr. Weaver, he will perform multiple assessments to determine the overall wellness of your feet. These assessments may include the following:
A Visual Exam
This visual inspection may include examining your feet for swelling, cuts, blisters, injuries, or signs of infection. We will check between your toes where problems can develop. We may also:
- Perform a skin evaluation to check for temperature changes, dryness, and cracking that could lead to complications.
- Perform a toenail assessment to look for signs of ingrown nails or fungal infections that require treatment.
Movement and Structure Evaluation
Dr. Weaver may evaluate your joint flexibility and range of motion, your walking pattern, balance, and foot structure, and will look for any signs of developing deformities. He may also look at your shoes for signs of unusual wear and tear.
Other Tests
The podiatric team at Central Kansas Podiatry Associates may use other testing methods to help determine your foot health. We may perform the following:
- Neurological tests. Using special tools, we can test the nerve function in your feet. We can check to see if you’re able to feel light touch, temperature changes, and vibration.
- Vascular assessment. We may evaluate blood flow to your feet by checking pulses and can use advanced diagnostic tools to measure circulation.
- Pressure point mapping. We identify areas of high pressure that could develop into ulcers, allowing us to address these issues proactively through custom footwear or orthotics.
Diabetic Shoes and Inserts
To help prevent diabetic foot complications, it’s important to invest in proper footwear. Our podiatric team can examine your feet and help determine the type of shoe you need. We may provide:
- Shoe evaluation. Because footwear plays a significant role in foot health and function, Dr. Weaver will examine your feet to determine proper shoe fit, support, cushioning, and stability. He may recommend specific shoe types or modifications to accommodate individual foot conditions or biomechanical issues.
- Recommendations for custom-fitted diabetic shoes that accommodate your feet. We have many foot products in our office that are engineered for diabetes management. These shoes offer protection, support, and comfort.
- Regular shoe assessments. We can check for wear and potential problems and provide guidance on selecting appropriate everyday footwear.
- Diabetic shoe inserts. These inserts are tailored to diabetic foot needs. They reduce friction and pressure points for enhanced comfort and protection.b
Common Signs of Foot Health Issues
At your appointment with Central Kansas Podiatry Associates, we will discuss with you the signs of foot problems. Some of these signs may include:
- An obvious puncture wound
- New foot pain
- Tingling, burning, or numbness
- Walking with a limp
- Foot swelling
- A sensation of bugs crawling on your skin
- Ulcers or open wounds
- Changes in the shape of your foot
Dr. Weaver may also ask you questions about your own foot health care, such as:
- Do you do a daily check of your own feet?
- Do you know how to check your feet properly?
- Do you have proper-fitting footwear that will help prevent ulcers?
- Have you ever visited a podiatrist or had a comprehensive foot exam?
Why Work With Central Kansas Podiatry Associates
Our Wichita podiatrists believe that education is key to preventing diabetic foot complications. Along with daily care instructions, proper foot hygiene, and foot changes that need immediate medical attention, we also provide the following lifestyle guidance for foot health, especially for patients with diabetes:
- How to trim your toenails correctly
- How to stretch and exercise your feet
- The best type of shoes to wear for your unique needs
- Tips for how to maintain a healthy weight
- Why it’s important to quit smoking