| The average person does not think about feet when | | | | Picking the right pair of shoes, then, becomes a very |
| they hear the word diabetes. But as almost any | | | | important task. Shoes should protect the feet from |
| diabetic would tell you, foot infections are among the | | | | outside trauma. They should be close-toed. Diabetics |
| more serious problems that diabetics face. The | | | | who work in accident-prone environments such as |
| combination of poor circulation (which affects the | | | | construction sites or factories might want to consider |
| extremities of the body first) and nerve damage | | | | investing in steel-toed work boots. Shoes should also |
| makes it difficult for diabetics to detect sore spots | | | | not inflict trauma on the feet. This seems like an |
| or injuries on their feet. Even minor problems such as | | | | obvious point! But many of us are used to suffering |
| blisters, calluses, corns, hangnails or a small cut can | | | | through a âbreak-inâ period with |
| lead to foot ulcers (open sores on the feet) and | | | | new shoes. We put up with the blisters and calluses |
| wide-scale infections such as gangrene that lead to | | | | while our feet âadjustâ to their |
| amputation. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of | | | | new environment. For diabetics, there should be no |
| non-trauma related amputations in the industrialized | | | | âbreak-inâ period. If your shoes |
| world. | | | | give you blisters, you need a new pair of shoes. |