And the Oscar goes to....

Millions of people were glued to the TV on Sunday night to watch all the glitz and glamour of the "Red Carpet", like myself. I enjoy seeing what everyone is wearing and who they are with. I was surprised to see crutches make an appearance on the red carpet. Kristen Stewart, of Twilight fame, ambulated down the red carpet on crutches Sunday because she stepped and cut her foot on glass. Ouch! Just a good reminder of how careful you have to be with your feet, especially if you have diabetes.  If a healthy young women can cut her foot so badly on glass that she requires crutches on Oscar night reinforces what podiatrists preach, that people with health and foot issues need to be careful. The biggest health issue affecting the feet is Diabetes.

There are three things that can be affected in regards to your feet and diabetes.  Diabetes is the inability of your body to produce enough insulin or utilizing the insulin our body produces. The hormone insulin allows the sugar that is produced by the breakdown of food to be moved into organs to be used as energy. However in diabetes, the sugar remains in the blood and cannot be used as energy. Eventually the blood sugar can get absorbed into the lining of the small blood vessels such as the small arteries in your toes, fingers, eyes, etc. This causes the arteries to become calcified and limits the blood flow to the affected area, commonly called Peripheral Artery Disease or PAD.

Secondly, the blood sugar can get absorbed into nerves causing chemical nerve damage, called neuropathy. This results in numbness, burning, tingling, and pain. Often the first symptoms can be felt at night only and can be painful. Eventually, this can progress to complete numbness. This is when people are at most risk for developing problems. Because they cannot feel, they often wear shoes that are too tight, step on something, cut their feet, etc and do not realize it. Often the first sign of a problem for them  is when they see drainage or blood on their sock or on the floor, and unfortunately it may be days afterwards that this is initially noticed. For this reason it is extremely important if you are suffering from neuropathy, daily inspections of your feet must occur.

The third major complication of diabetes related to your feet is the higher your blood sugar is, the less able your body is to fight off infection. The white blood cells (that are the body's major defensive cells against bacteria) and viruses are inactive when the sugar levels in your blood is high. This can make it difficult to try and heal a problem once this process has started.

Prevention is the key with people with diabetes or other foot health issues. Don't forget to see your podiatrist at the first sign of trouble. Now we can focus on the best and worst dressed at the Oscar's. I loved Anne Hathaway's dress and did you see Jennifer Lawrence fall on the way to receiving her Oscar (another potential podiatric patient).

Dr. "Sandie" Grulke
http://www.podiatrycarespecialists.com/