Checking our feet

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8
Hi All

Diagnosed back in Jan and with the pandemic, I tend to speak with NHS staff via telephone calls as opposed to in person which can sometimes be difficult.

Some NHS staff can be very helpful. Others seem to be very painful.

So my local GP diabetic nurse phoned me Wednesday for my first assessment. She asked my readings and said I was managing them really well.

for the remainder of the phone call she spoke about type 1 and feet. I mean she really liked talking about type 1 and feet.

she told me I must check and moisturise them every day.

I must always wear sandals to the beach and slippers in doors

I must never go feet first into the bath and always reverse into the water (I’m a shower kind of guy anyhoo).

a type 1 she once knew stood on a pin once with no slippers on and had a bad time

After the discussion she explained she will speak to me once a year to see how I am and that was that.

So before I start falling backwards into a bath tub, I wanted to check with some actual type 1’s on how they go about managing their feet and to be honest, what on earth am I looking for?

thanks in advance!
 
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becca59

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,856
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
@Stretford Ender your post made me chuckle, you obviously have a sense of humour. To be fair everything she said is true. There is nothing there that I wouldn’t do. Check your feet regularly, moisturise to prevent hard skin and ultimately cracking which could give you issues. And it is very important to keep feet covered to protect. To be fair as someone newly diagnosed you are going to have few issues with feet. But it is advisable to get into good habits. Like you I prefer a shower.
 

Ushthetaff

Well-Known Member
Messages
867
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Mountain out of mole hill makers ,queues , crowds , shopping on a Saturday hmm just shopping I guess no matter what day it is
I think you DSN is trying to tell you that it is important to look after your feet ! In her own special way. it is important to make sure we as diabetics look after our feet , I know all too well the consequences I lost my right leg due to dropping a hammer on my toe, however , the reason for this wasn’t because I didn’t look after my feet it was because I didn’t look after my blood sugars. This made cuts bruises bumps take a lot longer to heal and in the case of my foot it basically didn’t heal, since losing my leg and now totally looking after my sugars , I’ve had the odd bump cut. I even had a blister on my foot ( due to a rubbing boot ) however this time it healed perfectly , so good foot hygiene is great but it must go hand in glove with good blood control, which you seem to be achieving so as long as that continues you’ll have no probs .
 

TashT1

Well-Known Member
Messages
308
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Wow that seems a bit over kill, but I guess she got her point across.

I went for a foot check at the dr’s a couple of weeks ago. All was fine & I was told to just moisturise my feet & be careful.

2 days later I stepped on some glass, deeply imbedded in my foot & I couldn’t reach it. I had to call my 18yr old son & with the help of the 9 & 8yr olds they proceeded to dig around in my foot with kitchen scissors & tweezers.

It sounds worse than it was, but I did wonder how it would heal. Turns out all was fine & it was sorted in a couple of days.

In summary I learned nothing neither moisturising my feet or purchasing slippers.
 

Seacrow

Well-Known Member
Messages
496
Type of diabetes
LADA
Wow. 90% of the time I walk around with bare feet. The soles are pretty tough, enough that walking on gravel or sand really doesn't bother me. I still have enough sensation that if I'm starting to stand on something sharp I can stop in time. Wearing proper shoes tends to give me blisters, so I have trainers with arch support instead.
 

KK123

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Messages
3,967
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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I run barefoot on my treadmill, using trainers makes my knees ache but barefoot is far more comfortable and I've done it for years. If I told your Nurse that she'd probably have me certified!
 

Mr_Pot

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4,573
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Diet only
I run barefoot on my treadmill, using trainers makes my knees ache but barefoot is far more comfortable and I've done it for years. If I told your Nurse that she'd probably have me certified!
Unless you have broken glass or sharp stones on your treadmill you are probably ok :)
 

Ushthetaff

Well-Known Member
Messages
867
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Mountain out of mole hill makers ,queues , crowds , shopping on a Saturday hmm just shopping I guess no matter what day it is
I have wonder about getting into thing, I thought it was only royals after too much gin gave themselves a purple sock by sticking foot in a bath with no cold water ! I think common sense must apply , after all do we always listen to DSN’s all the time?
 
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KK123

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Messages
3,967
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Unless you have broken glass or sharp stones on your treadmill you are probably ok :)

Well I've managed to reach 60 and my feet (so far) are fine but then again I was only diagnosed 3 years ago.:)
 

Maco

Well-Known Member
Messages
278
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I’ve been diabetic 12yr & Some of the things you’ve been told I’ve honestly never heard. Made me giggle anyway