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Diabetic Foot Care - Podiatrist in Katy, TX - Ronald Bruscia, DPM
Dr. Ron Bruscia of Family Foot and Ankle Wellness Center discusses why diabetics must come in for a comprehensive foot exam to avoid the complications of diabetes.
An Unwelcome Lifetime Companion
Diabetes, once diagnosed, is present for life. Considerable research is focused on finding a cure, and much progress has been made in treatment and control of the disease. The majority of people with diabetes have type II diabetes. Type I, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, once referred to as juvenile, or juvenile-onset diabetes, afflicts five to 10 percent of people with diabetes. Type II, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, once known as adult-onset diabetes, afflicts the other 90-95 percent, many of whom use oral medication or injectable insulin. The vast majority of those people (80 percent or more) are overweight, many of them obese. Obesity itself can cause insulin resistance. The socioeconomic costs of diabetes are enormous. The dollar costs have been estimated at 592 billion annually, about equally split between direct medical costs and indirect costs. Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the United States. Individuals with diabetes are two to four times as likely to experience heart disease and stroke. It is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease and new cases of blindness among adults under 75. The trauma of amputation is particularly debilitating. It often ends working careers, and restricts social life and the independence which mobility affords. For more than 50 percent of those who experience an amputation of one limb, the loss of another will occur within three to five years. The key to amputation prevention is early recognition and foot screening, at least annually, of at-risk individuals. Those individuals considered to be at high risk are those who exhibit one or more of six characteristics: (1) peripheral neuropathy, a nerve disorder generally characterized by loss of protective sensation and/or tingling and numbness in the feet; (2) vascular insufficiency, a circulatory disorder which inhibits blood flow to the extremities; (3) foot deformities, such as hammertoes; (4) stiff joints; (5} calluses on the soles of the feet; and (6) a history of open sores on the feet (ulcerations) or a previous lower extremity amputation.
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