Steven Neufeld: Foot Care for People with Diabetes

1. Steven Neufeld: Foot Care for
People with Diabetes

2. 
As medical director, Steven Neufeld, MD, treats and evaluates
patients at the Falls Church, Virginia-based Orthopaedic Foot and
Ankle Center of Washington. The practice delivers care to
individuals with diabetes as well as those with all ankle and foot
disorders. Steven Neufeld, MD, is a member of the Patient
Education Committee of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle
Society, he is Chairman of the Health Policy Committee of the
American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Soceity and regularly
contributes foot and ankle articles, lectures and education to
members of the orthopaedic community, orthopaedic residents and
students around the country. He has been invited to be a visiting
lecturer at major universities across the country and has run
national conferences on Foot & Ankle Disorders.

3. 
Vigilantly monitoring foot health becomes necessary for
individuals with diabetes. The condition can seriously affect feet by
reducing blood flow to the extremities, which in turn can allow
infections to occur. In addition, diabetes can cause nerve damage
to the feet making people more susceptible to injury, pain, infection
and severe problems. Individuals with diabetes should follow a
foot-care regimen that involves carefully checking feet for injuries
like blisters, calluses and cuts each day. A small hand mirror can
be held under the foot to view the bottom of the foot. Dry, cracked
skin can be doors for bacteria to infect the foot so diabetics should
ensure that their feet are smooth and healthy. Upon detecting any
foot injury or any foot problem, patients with diabetes should
consult a foot and ankle physician.

4. 
Further, patients should wash their feet in water
no warmer than 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. To
keep their skin from cracking, individuals with
diabetes should regularly moisturize their feet
while avoiding the area between the toes, which is
prone to fungal infections.