THE PATIENT CORNER | Proper Foot Exam

Yesterday, I posted about the importance of Daily Foot Checks for Patients. Today, I thought it was only fitting to discuss the patient education with foot care in more detail.

As I mentioned in the previous post, ensuring that your patients know how to perform proper foot care is crucial and it can single-handedly prevent or reduce the chance of diabetic compications such as neuropathy, peripheral artery disease, and even amputations. Before I go over the points, I provided below a patient education printable and video to share with your patients. See below for both!

Alright…let’s get into these talking points!!!

• Inspect Feet Daily

  Simply looking for abnormalities and deformities could suffice with inspection but explain to your patients that they should look for cuts, nicks, or redness. Clearly, they know their feet better than anyone so encourage them to report changes.

• Properly Clean & Dry Feet

  As diabetics, they are more prone to fungal infections so cleaning and drying the feet would take away the environment that fungus likes to grow. Also, educate over not using powder for dryness but just pat the feet to dry them.

• Nails, Calluses, & Corns

  Assess the nails to see if they are nourished and free from brittleness. Calluses and corns are a sign of ill fitting footwear.

• Proper fitting socks & shoes

  To prevent the aforementioned, having well fitted socks and shoes will prevent this. All insurances cover diabetic supplies including diabetic shoes and socks.

• Protect your Feet

  The diabetic should never walk barefoot, indoors or outdoors. With the common loss of sensation, the diabetic could step on something and possibly not feel an object. This could lead to blisters and even infections in some cases.

Now these are great talking points but feel free to adjust and tweak where you see fit.

Also, if you missed my post over the components of foot care for the diabetic, click —>HERE<— to get a great breakdown and resources! And if video, is more of your thing, here’s the video below!

Well guys, until next time…