A foot is a terrible thing to waste
By Chuck Gerald, pedorthist
Over six million people have diabetes and have not been diagnosed. Fifty- four million have pre- diabetes or borderline.

Chuck Gerald, pedorthist (a specialist in footwear including shoes, shoe modifications, foot orthoses, and other pedorthis devices), checks over his grandchild Alyssa Grace's feet.

Every 30 seconds a person in the developed world has a limb amputated due to diabetes, 54,000 in the U.S. alone. According to statistics, 68 percent will die with in five years of the amputation. In 2003, an estimated 194 million people had diabetes and by 2025 the number is expected to top 333 million. This is due in part to a longer life expectancy, changing diet patterns, and a sedentary life style. Approximately one out of every three or four children in America will be affected in their life time.

The costs of diabetes are in the billions, which does not include lost production.

George Bernard Shaw said in Doctors Delima he "marveled that a person would pay a large sum of money to remove someone's leg but nothing to save it."

Diabetes not only leads to problems with feet, it can cause retinopathy that leads to blindness. It can also cause kidney failure, which leads to dialysis or a transplant. Eating sweets is not the only cause of diabetes. Obesity and no exercise are huge risk factors. Genetics also plays a part. Being overweight is the hands down winner.

What can you do? • Be screened by your careprovider. • Exercise at least two- and- a- half hours per week.

If you are diabetic follow your doctor's advice to the letter. Don't smoke, check your feet daily. Have your feet checked by a doctor at least once a year. If you have problems, check your feet several times a day. Look between the toes for anything unusual. If you cannot bend over to see the bottom of your feet, get a plastic mirror.

Never go barefoot. Keep your feet clean and dry. Be meticulous about your skin. If possible, change your shoes three times a day. The time between changes gives needed relief to those pressure points calluses that generally lead to ulcers. This will also help with moisture buildup that causes bacteria.

Avoid crossing your legs because this can restrict bloodflow.

Never cut your own nails.

Have your feet measured and fitted by a professional and wear deep, wide therapeutic shoes with special inserts made for the diabetic foot.

If your feet are dry and cracked, put a thin coat of lotion on the tops and bottoms but NOT between your toes. Invest in some quality diabetic socks that are non binding and preferably have the new silver fiber such as X- static that has been shown to improve circulation and kill bacteria. (They even cut down on foot odor.) Chuck Gerald a board

certified pedorthist, a specialist

in footwear including

shoes, shoe modifications,

foot orthoses, and

other pedorthis devices. He

is affiliated with Wellness

Life Systems and is a manufacturer's

representative

for Instride Shoes by George

Foreman. shoeguy@earthlink.

net or 803-467-8286.