What Is The Purpose Of Diabetic Shoes?
About shoes designed for persons with diabetes
Diabetic shoes help in regulating blood sugar levels in those who are active. Most diabetics check their blood sugar levels at least once a day to make sure the glucose in their bloodstream remains in a safe zone. For the average person that doesn’t have diabetes, short-term spikes — that is, a quick rise in glucose levels — aren’t that big of a deal but for the person with diabetes such spikes can be dangerous. These complications can be found all across the body but they are most commonly seen in the feet. This is why protecting your feet should be such a major goal for diabetics, and it’s why wearing diabetic shoes can be beneficial.
There are two major problems that diabetics can suffer from in their feet, damage to the peripheral nerves and to the arteries. These conditions are the result of high levels of glucose and insulin existing in the blood for a prolonged period of time, generally for some years. Combined, these issues are very serious.
When you can’t feel your feet it becomes much easier to injure them. Sores can form from scratches or minor injuries to the feet — or before you even feel that you’ve broken skin. If you are walking barefoot you could easily cut your foot and not realize it. If your foot is too tight in your shoe you could develop a sore due to a pressure point you didn’t know existed. For those that don’t have diabetes any of these problems are felt right away and adjustments are made to eliminate irritation and clean open wounds; with diabetics this is not so and wounds grow large and unwieldy.
Despite what happens to the foot as far as injuries are concerned your blood supply should help your feet heal. If you have an infection antibiotics are delivered via the circulatory system. But if your blood flow is slowed or blocked due to diabetic foot complications then the healing process is also slowed.
If a foot injury exists and the blood flow is poor, wounds can fester for a long time. For those where this is the case it is important to know that wearing diabetic shoes can help improve this blood flow problem and help your feet heal themselves. These shoes not only help you to stay active and maintain better blood sugar levels but also allow you to lead a more comfortable life.
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