Foot Care Tips

Good foot care requires common sense and an understanding of what to look for.

• Every day wash your feet gently in lukewarm water to avoid injury to the skin.
• Check the temperature of the water with your wrist or elbow before putting your feet in. This can prevent burns from water that is too hot.
• Never soak your foot for more than 10 minutes to avoid excessive dryness of the skin.
• Pat, do not rub, your foot dry. Be especially careful to dry between and under the toes otherwise the skin may break down allowing bacteria to enter.
• Use a soft towel.
• For dry skin, use a lanolin cream sparingly. For moist skin, dust lightly with talcum powder. Remove excess lotion or powder from between the toes to avoid skin breakdown.
• Check around the nails, between and under the toes, and the bottom and top of the foot for cuts, cracks, swelling, bruises, blisters, temperature changes, i.e. hot spots, tenderness and color changes (red, white or blue).
• Use a hand mirror or have someone help you check your feet.
• Check feet daily in good light to control problems early.
• If you find a minor injury, wash it with soapy water and cover it with a dry dressing. Change the dressing and check the injury daily. Do not use Iodine or strong antiseptics. They can be irritating to the skin and the colour of the iodine may hide any signs of infection (redness) that may occur.
• Contact your doctor immediately if any part of your foot or leg turns dark blue or black in colour or in an injury does not heal or becomes infected. An injury that is infected may be painful, red, swollen, hot, and my ooze pus.
• If you develop corns or callouses, soften them by soaking your feet daily in lukewarm water for 10 minutes. Then rub your corns or callouses gently for a few minutes with a pumice stone to remove the dead skin.
• If your corns or callouses are a particular problem, or if you have thick, cracked, or deformed nails, consult your doctor or a foot doctor (podiatrist).
• If your toe-mails are thin and soft, cut them with a nail clipper or scissors, after a bath. The bath will help to soften your toe-nails.
• Make sure that there is plenty of light so that you can clearly see what you are doing.
• Always cut your toe-nails straight across and never shorter than the end of the toe.

Foot Care Tips

• File any rough edges of the nail with an emery board, not a metal nail file.
• Don’t walk barefoot.
• Wear comfortable well fitting shoes or slippers with a sole.
• Don’t wear shoes or slippers with torn or rough linings or bare seams.
• Wear clean socks and hose changing them daily.
• Wear only wool or cotton socks and make sure that they fit well.
• Don’t wear socks with holes or socks that have been darned. 

Dignity Home Care provides professional foot care/foot massage services to seniors in BC. Please contact us at 604-569-0505.

Diabetes Needs Better Foot Care

The statistics are impressive. People with diabetes are 25 times more likely to have a leg amputated than those without the condition, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Worldwide, up to 70 percent of all leg amputations happen to people with diabetes. Somewhere in the world, a leg is lost to diabetes every 30 seconds.

The good news is that up to 85 percent of diabetic amputations can be prevented.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in partnership with the International Diabetes Federation, is using this year’s World Diabetes Day (Nov. 14) to raise awareness of the importance of good foot care, especially for people with diabetes.

Foot problems are among the most common complications of diabetes and, if not treated in time, can lead to severe consequences, including amputation. “Most people take their feet for granted,” “Most of us can get away with it, but people with diabetes really need to pay attention to their feet.”

The problem is rooted in the long-term effects of raised blood glucose levels. People with diabetes are at high risk of nerve damage and problems with the blood supply to their feet. Nerve damage makes it difficult to feel pain, and therefore injuries may go unnoticed. Poor blood supply can slow down the healing process for wounds. These problems can lead to foot ulcers, which, if they become infected, may ultimately lead to amputation.

“The message is that even if foot problems are painless, they can be very serious in people with diabetes,”

The International Diabetes Federation has developed a set of foot-care recommendations for people with diabetes. They include:

• Check feet daily for cuts, blisters, bruises or changes in color, swelling, and open sores. If you find anything, consult a health care provider.
• Protect feet with well-fitting shoes. Do not go barefoot, to avoid injuries.
• Check for rocks, sharp objects, and rough spots before putting on shoes.
• Buy new shoes late in the day, when feet tend to be more swollen.
• Wear clean socks every day; make sure they’re not too tight and have no holes.
• Wash feet with soap and water, including between your toes. Dry them carefully, especially between the toes.
• Cut toenails straight across and file any sharp edges.
• Get feet checked regularly by a health care professional.

Experts also say that people with diabetes should avoid pointy-toed shoes and high heels, use warm not hot water to wash their feet, avoid heaters and hot water bottles to warm the feet, avoid over-the-counter corn removers, and give up or don’t start smoking, which interferes with the supply of blood to the feet.

There are a number of warning signs people with diabetes can watch for, including:

• Swelling of the foot or ankle
• Very cold feet or legs
• Red, blue, or black discoloration
• Pain in legs while at rest or walking
• Open sores, no matter how small
• Wounds that won’t heal
• Ingrown toenails.

Dignity Home Care provides professional foot care and foot massage to improve the blood circulation on the feet to prevent complications from Diabetes.