Help Bleeding Feet!!

lynne99 · Jun 17, 2018

Hi, I've just come back from 4 nights away in this country at the sea, in my camper van. I have worn sandals for the first time this year and within 2 days my feet were cracked and bleeding. No particular hard skin. Very sore to walk on. I am type 2 but take insulin. I will buy some flexitol, but would like to know what causes this. Thanks in advance. PS the avatar makes me look like a man, but \\i am a woman.

hankjam · Jun 17, 2018

Are you bleeding from cracks in heals or blisters? It's never too early to get the heal balm on. I'm 60, was at my Podiatrist last week and we had a lengthy chat on the need to keep feet moistured with a quality balm, he mentioned 25% Urea, which is what Flexitol is.
Hope they improve quickly

lynne99 · Jun 17, 2018

Thanks for answering. I don't have a podiatrist. I have ordered flexitol on line and hope it will be here soon.

Guzzler · Jun 17, 2018

Did you walk on/near a beach at all? Sand can be very drying and abrasive.

hankjam · Jun 17, 2018

Podiatry has been withdrawn from regular access in this part of Scotland, NE Fife, only for emergencies only....
Amazingly enough a boy has opened shop in my small village and as I have two really uncomfortable corns I decided to drop in and ask his rates. £32 for a 40 min appointment. A complete check up and corns removed... heaven. It's a sad state of affairs but it is what it is. Email sent to my MP and MSP.... grrr.....
What ever happened to preventative medicine..

Pinkorchid · Jun 17, 2018

Does anyone have access to a NHS podiatrist or chiropodist because they have diabetes we don't in my area

Resurgam · Jun 17, 2018

Have you nothing in the house you could use in the meantime?
Olive oil or coconut oil are both excellent for moisturizing skin - though if from an already opened container I'd be wary about getting any in the cracks, but a new one should be sterile.

first14808 · Jun 17, 2018

Yes, I do in Berkshire. I saw them just after I was diagnosed and being referred again after seeing the DN at the GPs last week. I have fairly high risk feet though due to circulation damage.

But I'd get an appointment to see the GP/DN, and keep a close eye on any bleeding feet. So clean and dry them carefully. My go-to lotion for this kind of thing is good'ol Savlon cream. And being warm-ish, try and avoid hot & sweaty shoes, make sure your socks are clean. And if it gets worse or inflamed, get thee to a doctor pronto!

I think we underestimate our toes. They're not just useful for finding doors in the dark, but can take quite a bit of physio if they drop off. As a mate discovered when he lost some in a motorbike accident.

(Also pet peeve this time of year watching people on bikes wearing shorts & sandals. Road vs skin gets rather messy, even at fairly low speeds).

Australiadiabetic2 · Jun 18, 2018

Yes Savlon cream is great

You really need to take care of your feet,sounds like they are very dry with them cracking

Moisture EVERY day , dry in between toes ,
If your heel is cracking you may need the outerlayers to be shaved off because the skin has become hard ,it needs a podiatrist to shave of the excess outer skin

Experiment with different oils for yiur feet,i found $2 baby oil or vaseline just as effective as $25 foot cream.

Soaking your feet in warm salty water then drying and moisterising ,wear socks with your sandals(i know it doesnt look good but hey it protects your feet)

I dont know how many diabetics lose their feet every year but it must be in the thousands i would imagine so act now,be too late later

DavidGrahamJones · Jun 18, 2018

I'm in High Wycombe Bucks and have never had access to NHS podiatrist. Something I willingly pay for, but there are times when my head goes the "I paid N.I. for 50 years route". But that paid for the NHS during the years that I paid.

Circuspony · Jun 18, 2018

Are you under the High Wycombe hospital diabetes team? The DNs would refer you if there's a problem

briped · Jun 18, 2018

I wear sandals every day every summer, and my feet do tend to go dry because of this, but not after only a couple of days. I hate socks and closed shoes, but to alleviate dry skin I'll sometimes apply ointment at night and wear a pair of socks in bed.
A few years ago I got cracked heels, and walking was no pleasure. Also I was worried about the cracks becoming infected, and a heel is not an easy place to treat with an ordinary band-aid. I bought one of those sprays called 'op-site', instead, and it worked a treat and protected the crack from becoming infected. Since then I've become so much better at using a heel 'chap' stick.

DavidGrahamJones · Jun 18, 2018

I've been type II for 20 years and the last time I saw someone from the hospital was in 1997 and I'd rather not repeat in public what I thought . . . . . . . I wasn't given a single iota of advice, just a b . . . . . . . . g Sorry, telling off, but no advice.

I've never been given the opportunity of seeing anybody else. Getting my feet looked after every six weeks is a bit like getting a hair cut really.

Just remembered I saw a diabetic specialist at Amersham last year, for dietary advice. Very nice person who was going to give me a book on low carb diets. I'd beaten her to it by 4 years.

Resurgam · Jun 18, 2018

I have worn sandals almost all the time for decades without any problems but I do put E45 cream on my feet a couple of times a week, usually after a bath and again after a shower if I notice they feel in need of it when drying my feet - my father and brother in law both had dreadful feet and I left home determined never to acquire the same problems.

Robbity · Jun 18, 2018

Yes sort of - I was referred to our local hospital for treatment of an ingrown toenail by the podiatrist after my first foot check with our surgery's DN - but this was over 4 years ago. I was told I could go direct to her if I continued to have any problems.

Robbity

Bluetit1802 · Jun 18, 2018

When I was first diagnosed in 2014 there was a self referral scheme to see a podiatrist, so I referred myself. She said my feet are perfect, and gave me a booklet about recommended shoes for diabetics (which was binned as soon as I got home) . She discharged me, saying no need to see her again. Since that time all I get is the nurse foot check (pulse and sensation), and I believe the self referral scheme no longer exists.

maglil55 · Jun 18, 2018

I certainly don't . As @hankjam said in Scotland unless you're an emergency case tough.
My feet were covered in really hard skin that kept peeling off and my feet were agony but I still wasn't an 'emergency'. Doctor tried all kinds of creams and nothing worked. I gave up and started seeing a podiatrist 6 weekly privately - £25. Worth every penny. The solution to my feet was very simple. Wear cotton socks.

hankjam · Jun 18, 2018

Agree with you comment on "worth every penny".

On socks... I have drawers full of socks in my vain attempt to find ones that I am happy with... I now wear wool ones... they are looking a bit thin at the heal though... and they don't give them away.

Bluetit1802 · Jun 18, 2018

My great aunt knitted woollen socks on 3 needles. It always fascinated me. My dad would wear nothing else.

Boo1979 · Jun 18, 2018

Yes. But only because GP incompetance when I was first diagnosed led to major foot surgery (left massive scars) and the loss of a toe so Ive been under under the “high risk” podiatry clinic ever since

Help Bleeding Feet!!

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