How Often Should Diabetics See a Podiatrist?

When should diabetics see a podiatrist? Well, when you’re diagnosed with diabetes, it’s important to put together a diabetic care team. What kind of specialists should be on that team? Diabetics should regularly see their primary care physician. Plus an endocrinologist, vascular physician, ophthalmologist, nutritionist as well as a diabetic counselor. And, of course, your podiatrist.

Now, you may be wondering: how often should I see each of these specialists? Particularly, how often should I see a podiatrist for my diabetic foot check? Well, today’s post explains: diabetics should see their podiatrist every three months.

When to See Your Diabetic Podiatrist 

When you have diabetes, you have to perform daily foot exams at home. This can help you catch potential problems between visits to your podiatrist. But, even if you don’t notice an immediate issue, home diabetic care can’t replace an in-office visit.

Why? When you come into the office, our diabetic foot exams can track even small changes in your foot health. As one of our diabetic patients recently shared, “I have used Dr. Bachmann for many years. I developed type II diabetes several years ago, so he sees me now to make sure there are no problems. And I have a chronic skin condition on my left foot that we keep watch on. He’s the best and I recommend him to all my friends and family.”

Keeping a professional watch on diabetic feet is crucial for your health. After all, if you have uncontrolled diabetes, you may develop peripheral neuropathy. And that can reduce your ability to feel pain. Now, when you add in poor diabetic blood flow? That’s a recipe for trouble. As the skin on your feet can start to break down. Increasing your risk for ulcers, infections and even amputations.
Now, these problems are serious diabetic complications. But many issues start as minor areas of irritation on your feet. Which, to the untrained eye, could seem like nothing to worry about. Especially if you go longer than three months between visits to your podiatrist. Since that gives minor problems the chance to become serious complications, like Charcot foot. Something you can avoid with proper diabetic foot care. And regular diabetic check ups with your podiatrist.

A Calendar for Diabetic Foot Care: When Diabetics See a Podiatrist

Hopefully, you now understand why you should visit your podiatrist regularly. So to help you stay on track, we’ve got a calendar checklist that can help prevent diabetic complications.

Every day.

Check your feet for blisters, ingrown toenails, athlete’s foot, or even pressure spots. Don’t forget to check your shoes for pebbles or other dirt that could irritate your feet. Notice any problems? Call your Spring or Tomball podiatrists right away. But if your feet look ok, keep walking through this calendar.

Every three months.

Schedule a diabetic foot exam in our podiatry practice. We can perform thorough foot exams that track slower potential complications. And, you can visit our medical-grade spa. There, you enjoy services such as diabetic nail trims and safe and sterile pedicures in Spring, TX. (Where you’ll meet Chakeitha, one of our diabetic pedicurists, pictured at right)

But remember: with neuropathy, ulcers or other complications, you’ll need to see us more often. Because with neuropathy, you lose the protective sensation. Which is what keeps a minor foot injury from becoming a major issue. And that means you often fail to notice minor conditions.

And, if left untreated, they turn into serious infections. What are the signs of a serious diabetic foot complication? Redness, swelling, cellulitis, fever, nausea, or vomiting. Notice any of those symptoms? Consider them a diabetic emergency. And call your podiatrist right away.

Preventative Diabetic Foot Care in Tomball and Spring TX

Now, we don’t want you to get too scared. When diabetics see your podiatrist every three months, we can manage your foot care with very few interventions. As one of our diabetic foot care patients recently shared about his visit with Dr. Bachman, “Wow, dude came in and didn’t even talk about medication. He actually gave me NATURAL medication for my neuropathy and it helped my conditions. Dr. Bachman was so caring and stayed with me for over 20 min passionately telling me what I need to do!”

But, if you do develop diabetic foot complications, we also offer cutting-edge interventions to save your feet. Whether it’s our state-of-the-art computerized sensory test to track neuropathy, or therapies such as peripheral nerve decompression, we have the tools to protect you from diabetic foot complications. But we can only use them if you come to see us regularly. So reach out and schedule your diabetic foot exam. And don’t worry if it’s been longer than three months. We won’t judge or criticize—we’ll just get you in for an exam as soon as possible!