How Diabetes Can Lead to Amputation
Battling diabetes comes along with the need to protect yourself against possible foot and ankle complications, some of which can lead to horrible foot ulcers that can quickly worsen and lead to amputation. It’s no exaggeration that a foot ulcer that starts on your ankle can lead to the amputation of your entire foot if it isn’t treated promptly and properly.
Risk factors for amputation when you have diabetes include the following:
Loss of feeling in your feet—Peripheral neuropathy is nerve disease caused by the high blood sugar of diabetes. As your nerves slowly deteriorate your feet and hands will become increasingly numb and you may feel other symptoms like tingling and burning.
Poor blood circulation—Deterioration of blood vessels often accompanies diabetes. This decreased blood flow to the feet can cause a much slower immune response, causing wounds to fester.
Debilitating foot deformities—Charcot Foot is a brutal foot collapse that often occurs without the patient even being aware that it is slowly happening due to the nerve damage caused by diabetes.
To help protect your feet, check them daily for any nicks, blisters, wounds, etc... Use a mirror to easily inspect the bottom of your feet.
Having regularly scheduled visits with your foot doctor will help avoid diabetic foot complications and amputations. At Fit Feet for Life, our team of board-certified podiatrists has access to advanced technologies and years of experience to help diagnose and treat a variety of foot and ankle problems, including heel pain, sports injuries, toe deformities, nail fungus, and plantar warts. Bonnie Sanchez, DPM, Gregory Cook, DPM, and Huy L. Nguyen, DPM provide high-quality foot and ankle care to patients in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area at our five offices conveniently located in Sun City Center, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and our two Tampa locations. Please contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.