If you have diabetes, here’s a way to keep standing on your own two feet: check them every day—even if they feel fine—and see your doctor if you have a cut or blister that won’t heal.  

There’s a lot to manage if you have diabetes: checking your blood glucose, making healthy food, finding time to be active, taking medicines, and going to doctor’s appointments. With all that, your feet might be the last thing on your mind. But daily care is one of the best ways to prevent foot complications.  

There’s a lot to manage if you have diabetes!  

Some people with nerve damage have numbness, tingling, or pain, but others have no symptoms. Nerve damage can also lower your ability to feel pain, heat, or cold. 

What’s the most important thing you can do to prevent nerve damage or stop it from getting worse? Keep your blood sugar in your target range as much as possible. Other good diabetes management habits can help, too: Stop smoking! Smoking reduces blood flow to the feet.  

Follow a nutrition plan, including eating more low-glycemic fruits, such as berries and vegetables, and avoid anything with sugar in it, including fruit juices, sodas, pastries, and candies. Physical activity—10 to 20 minutes a day is better than an hour once a week.  

Take medicine as prescribed by your doctor. Anyone with diabetes can develop nerve damage, but these factors increase your risk:  Blood sugar levels that are hard to manage, having diabetes for a long time, especially if your blood sugar is often higher than your target levels, being overweight, being older than 40 years, having high blood pressure and having high cholesterol.  

Nerve damage, along with poor blood flow—another diabetes complication—puts you at risk for developing a foot ulcer (a sore or wound) that could get infected and not heal well. If an infection doesn’t get better with treatment, your toe, foot, or part of your leg may need to be amputated (removed by surgery) to prevent the infection from spreading and to save your life. When you check your feet daily, you can catch problems early and treat them immediately. Early treatment greatly reduces your risk of amputation.  

One of the best ways to prevent foot infections and amputations is to Inspect your feet daily!  

Get to the bottom of any foot problems by using a mirror or asking for help. Check your feet daily if you have lessened sensation.