Take care of your diabetes.
- Work with your doctor to keep your blood glucose within a good range.
Check your feet every day.
- Look at your bare feet every day for cuts, blisters, red spots, and swelling.
- Use a mirror to check the bottoms of your feet or ask a family member for help if you have trouble seeing.
Wash your feet every day.
- Wash your feet in warm, not hot, water every day.
- Dry your feet well. Be sure to dry between the toes.
Selecting Chinldren's Shoes
- Children may require new shoes every 3-4 months. How often you replace their shoes depends on how active your child is and how fast their feet are growing.
- Pay attention to the shoe’s length, width, and depth when fitting your child’s shoe. Poorly fitting children’s shoes can cause toe problems.
Pregnancy And Foot
- Wearing compression stockings.
- Regular walking and low-impact aerobic exercise.
- Staying properly hydrated.
- Frequent stretching of the calves.
- Massaging the swollen area.
How do i avoid injuries and pain while wearing heels?
- Limit the amount of time wearing high heels and not everyday – the more time in the high heels, the more likely the calf muscles will become contracted.
- Wear a lower heel height – this will reduce sliding and lower the pressure on the toes and toenails.
Keep the skin soft and smooth.
- Rub a thin coat of skin lotion over the tops and bottoms of your feet, but not between your toes
Test your foot and ankle function and flexibility.
- Try to pick up a marble or small dishtowel with just your toes to assess their flexibility. To test your ankle flexibility, stand on a stair while facing up the staircase. Hang your heel over the edge and let it go below the level of the stair. If this causes pain, stop the test. If your heel goes below the level of the stair without causing strain in your calf, your flexibility level is excellent. If there is some strain, you can correct it with flexibility exercises.
Smooth corns and calluses gently.
- If your feet are at low risk for problems, use a pumice stone to smooth corns and calluses. pumice stone to smooth corns and calluses.
- Do not use over-the-counter products or sharp objects on corns or calluses.
If you can see and reach your toenails, trim them each week or when needed.
- Trim your toenails straight across and file the edges with an emery board or nail file.
Wear shoes and socks at all times.
- Never walk barefoot.
- Wear comfortable shoes that fit well and protect your feet.
- Feel inside your shoes before putting them on each time to make sure the lining is smooth and that there are no objects inside.
Assess the blood flow.
- Press down on the nail of your big toe until the color fades, about 5 seconds. Then let go and allow the blood flow to return to your toe. If you have average circulation, the return of normal color to your toe should take 2-5 seconds.
Eat healthy food for good foot health
- Eat dairy products, including yogurt and cheese, are excellent sources of calcium. An eight-ounce glass of milk contains about 300 mg of calcium. Other calcium-rich foods include sardines with bones and green leafy vegetables, including broccoli and collard greens.
- Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. The recommendation for vitamin D is 400 IU to 1,000 IU daily. Supplemented dairy products are an excellent source of vitamin D; a cup of milk contains 100 IU.
Check the appearance of your feet and ankles.
- Look for things like swelling, discoloration of the skin or nails, blisters, excessive calluses, and changes to the shape of your foot. Be sure to examine the soles of your feet and the space between the toes.
Protect your feet from hot and cold.
- Wear shoes at the beach or on hot pavement.
- Wear socks at night if your feet get cold.
- Don’t test bath water with your feet.
- Don’t use hot water bottles or heating pads.
Keep the blood flowing to your feet.
- Put your feet up when sitting.
- Wiggle your toes and move your ankles up and down for 5 minutes, two or three times a day.
- Do not cross your legs for long periods of time.
- Do not smoke.
Be active every day.
- Plan your physical activity program with your doctor.
Check with your doctor.
- Have your doctor or nurse check your bare feet and find out whether you are likely to have serious foot problems. Remember that you may not feel the pain of an injury.
- Call your doctor right away if you find a cut, sore, blister, or bruise on your foot that does not begin to heal after one day.
- Follow their advice about foot care.
For the older person as well as the diabetic elderly.
- Wash your feet daily Rinse off all soap and dry thoroughly, especially areas between toes.
- Use a Q-tip to dry areas between the toes. Do not use hot water.
- Examine your feet daily – skin, soles and areas between toes.
- Use a mirror or get help from family member or friends if your eyesight is poor.
- Trim nails straight across, and not too short.
- Don’t cut nails out or dig at corners. It prevents possible infection and ingrown nails.
- Wear clean socks or stockings, changed daily.
- Do not wear socks or stocking that are too short or too tight. It inhibits blood supply to the lower limbs.
- Wear shoes that fit and provide support.
- Apply moisturizer to your feet daily.
- Exercise and massage your feet. It improves the circulation to the lower limbs and promotes blood supply.
- Limit or quit smoking. It will constrict the blood vessels and decrease blood supply to the lower limbs.
- Do not SELF – MEDICATE. Seek medical attention at first sight of sores, blisters, broken skin, redness or swelling.
For ingrown nails.
- Trim off the ingrown nail and keep the area clean.
- Wear open toes shoe till the nail grows back.
- If unsure of how to trim off the ingrown nail consult a podiatrist. Cut toenails straight across is the best prevention.
- Consult doctor for serious cases.
For the arthritic foot.
- Use ice pack / hot pack to relieve the aching pain.
- Use pain relieving cream such as Voltaren cream.
- Use vitamins such as B6, B12 and Folic acid.
Get started now.
- Begin taking good care of your feet today.
- Set a time every day to check your feet.
General Tips.
- Purchase shoes at the end of the day (when your feet are larger) to be certain they won’t be too tight.
- If you can’t wiggle your toes, the shoes are too small. Round or square-toed shoes have the most room, while narrow or pointed-toed shoes have the least and can aggravate conditions such as bunions and hammertoes.
- Measure both feet. One usually is larger and the shoe should fit comfortably on that foot.
- Try on shoes with socks, hose, or any special insert you normally wear.
- Walk around the store in the shoes before purchasing. They should feel comfortable. Do not expect shoes to stretch to fit your foot.
- Footwear with adequate cushioning or shock absorption, such as athletic shoes, absorb more stress and protect your feet. This is noteworthy for anyone with heel pain.
- Shoes should have good arch support. Those that bend in the mid-sole area can lead to plantar fasciitis or arch pain.
