Basic At-Home
Diabetes Foot Care

First let's make a couple of assumptions about your diabetes foot care and why you're here.

you have diabetes and want to make sure you're doing all the right things to care for your feet.

you really want some walking comfort so you can enjoy all the great benefits of walking we've talked about.

Is this you? Great! We're on the same page!

First though the usual disclaimer

You need to seek guidance and advice from your medical practitioner for everything being suggested here.

We're not medical people. We're enthusiastic walking messengers and your cheerleaders passing on the best information we can find from qualified sources* to help you.

Diabetes is a serious disease and requires guidance at all times from qualified professionals.

* you can get more complete information on diabetic foot care at eMedicineHealth. They're an excellent health information resource that have been helping people on the web for over 14 years.

Basic At Home Diabetes Foot Care

Here are a few things you can do at home to help with your diabetes foot care.

Foot Examination

Examine your feet every day and after any trauma you may experience no matter how minor you think it is.

Trauma is just a fancy word for any sort of physical injury or bump to your feet. Tell your doctor about any of these/

Put a water-based moisturizing cream on your feet every day everywhere except between your toes. Avoid wearing elastic types of socks*. They can cut off or impair your circulation without you being aware of it. Wear cotton or wool socks instead.

*You can get excellent free consultation on picking the right sock types for your condition by calling Susan Graham of Thorlo Socks at 888-846-7567, 8-5 EST (US Only) or email her at sugraham@thorlo.com from anywhere.

Remove obstacles

Around your home, remove any items on the floor you're likely to trip over or bump into. Don't leave clutter on the floor and make sure where you walk is well lit - both during the day and at night.

Trim Your Toenails

Cut your toenails regularly. Always use safety clippers (never scissors) and cut straight across. Leave plenty of nail out from the quick or nail bed. Get help with this from your doctor, family member of partner - especially if you have trouble with your vision, your hands and your flexibility.

Footwear

Make sure to wear sturdy and comfortable shoes wherever possible to help protect your feet. There are several factors you need to know about Choosing The Right Diabetic Shoes to do the right thing for your feet. This is a major part of being able to enjoy walking especially with your diabetes.

Exercise

Regular exercise is really important. It's a great way to improve your bone and joint health in your feet and legs. Read more about the great benefits of exercise for diabetes in our Diabetes Foot Pain & Walking section.

Smoking

Yup - smoking of any kind is NOT a good thing for diabetes and diabetes foot care at all. Quitting smoking is one of THE best things you can do to help yourself.

Smoking accelerates damage to your blood vessels, especially the very small blood vessels. Mess those up and you get poor circulation - a real biggie in foot infections for diabetics.

Diabetes Control

At the end of the day diabetes foot care and control of your diabetes is possible and should include: