Been Diagnosed with Diabetes? Be Sure to Protect Your Feet

Been Diagnosed with Diabetes? Be Sure to Protect Your Feet

(ARA) - When she was diagnosed with diabetes nearly ten years ago, Bonnie Johnson of Sisters, Ore., had to make a lot of lifestyle changes. She started monitoring her blood sugar daily, changed her diet to include fewer animal products and sweets and increased the amount of exercise she was getting.

"Those changes didn't bother me. In fact, they were easy to implement, but when my doctor urged me to put away my sandals and start wearing closed-toed shoes to protect my feet, I wanted to cry," says Johnson. "I'm an Iowa girl and I love going barefoot and wearing sandals."

For the first few years after being diagnosed, Johnson tempted the fates and wore sandals anyway, trying to ignore the pain caused by the splits and cracks that formed on her feet. But when they became infected and wouldn't heal, Johnson knew she was in trouble. She was beginning to experience the side effects her doctor had warned her about: poor blood flow which makes it hard for a sore or infection to heal, and diabetic neuropathy, which is when nerve damage prevents the patient from feeling pain, heat and cold in the legs and feet.

"When I finally went in to see the doctor, he convinced me to put the sandals away. He told me that if I kept wearing them, I would eventually develop gangrene and could lose my feet," says Johnson.

Just when she had given up all hope of ever wearing sandals again, a former co-worker called her up with some good news. "She had started working for a company that made a crème specifically designed to help diabetics like myself protect their feet," says Johnson. "Within two days of starting to use O'Keeffe's Working Feet Crème, my sores finally began to heal."

Working Feet is a product developed, says its inventor, out of a daughter's love for her father. "My father was a rancher and a diabetic whose skin was always so dry it cracked and bled, but he was the type of man who would rather work and suffer in silence than sit on the sidelines," remembers Bill O'Keeffe's daughter, Tara. "I hated watching him suffer, so after I got out of pharmacy school I made it my mission to find a way to help him, and fortunately, the crème I created in our kitchen did the trick."

After Bill O'Keeffe started telling others about his success with the crème, word quickly spread, and so did demand. This demand was largely because O'Keeffe's Working Feet Crème contains a combination of primarily water and glycerin that hydrates the skin, stimulates its growth and traps moisture in the top layers of the skin without being oily.

What started 12 years ago as a kitchen-counter project has evolved into an expanding business that has produced and shipped several million jars from the current facility in Sisters, Ore. O'Keeffe's Working Feet Crème is sold in the foot care section of Walgreens stores nationwide and is available online at www.okeeffescompany.com.

In addition to putting O'Keeffe's Working Feet crème on your feet daily, here are some other foot care tips from the American Diabetes Association:

* Look at your feet every day to check for cuts, sores, blisters, redness, calluses, or other problems. Checking every day is even more important if you have nerve damage or poor blood flow. If you cannot bend over or pull your feet up to check them, use a mirror. If you cannot see well, ask someone else to check your feet.

* Wash your feet in warm water every day. Make sure the water is not too hot by testing the temperature with your elbow. Do not soak your feet. Dry your feet well, especially between your toes.

* File corns and calluses gently with an emery board or pumice stone. Do this after your bath or shower.

* Cut your toenails once a week or when needed. The best time is when they are soft from washing. Cut them to the shape of the toe and not too short. File the edges with an emery board.

* Wear shoes that fit well. Shop for shoes at the end of the day when your feet are bigger. Break in shoes slowly. Wear them 1 to 2 hours each day for the first few weeks.

* Before putting your shoes on, feel the insides to make sure they have no sharp edges or objects that might injure your feet.

Courtesy of ARAcontent