Your
Podiatrist's Role: Preventing Infections
Preventing foot infections is the best step toward protecting the
health of your feet, a step you can take with the help of your podiatrist.
Your podiatrist examines your feet regularly, teaches you about self-care,
provides foot "maintenance", and may even recommend special footwear to
help relieve extra pressure.
Examining Your Feet Regularly
Even if you don't have
symptoms now, they could develop quickly. By following your doctor's
schedule for regular podiatric exams, you give your doctor the opportunity
to monitor the blood flow and feeling in your feet, as well as catch small
foot injuries before they develop into larger
infections.
Teaching You Self-Care
The more you know about
diabetes any your feet, the better you can monitor your foot health.
Your podiatrist teaches you warning signs and foot inspection, as well as
many other foot care tips. Your podiatrist is also available, either
during your regular appointment or by phone, to answer your questions
about your foot health.
Providing Routine Foot Care
Routine foot care helps
keep thick and ingrown nails, blisters, corns, calluses, and other skin
irritations from developing into ulcers or infections. Your podiatrist
may:
trim or thin
nails to keep them from becoming ingrown or
thick
treat
blisters so they won't become infected
trim corns and
calluses so they won't develop into ulcers or infections
Providing Customized Footwear
If your podiatrist identifies
areas of your feet that
may be damaged by extra pressure, he or she
may provide you with customized footwear that protects pressure-sensitive
areas of your feet and helps keep existing skin irritations from
worsening.
Your
Podiatrit's Role: Treating Infections
Any
minor foot problem, from corns and calluses to cuts and cracks in your
skin can become infected. And if left untreated, infections can become
life threatening. However, prompt treatment by your podiatrist either at
the office or in the hospital, can clear up the infection and restore your
foot health.
Minor
Infections
If your podiatrist diagnoses a minor infection, you'll be
started in an individualized treatment program. Your podiatrist's goal,
like your own, is to help the infected area heal and keep the
infection from spreading.
Treatment
At the office, your
podiatrist cleans the infected area. You may be given antibiotics to
further combat the infection. Take the full course of antibiotics your
podiatrist has prescribed, even if the sore begins to look better;
otherwise the infection may continue to spread.
Follow-Up Visits
Even with antibiotics and
other treatment, infection may take a long time to heal. So that
your podiatrist can continue to monitor and treat the infection
until it's under control, be sure to keep all of your follow-up
appointments.
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