How can doctors know if you have diabetes by examining the bottom of your foot?
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Were you talking about a regular doctor or an alternative practitioner? They are amazing at what they can diagnose by your feet sometimes. And they get it right too!
And the other people did answer you question about regular doctors. They look for infections because people with DM get foot infections and yeast growth really easy.
They cant give a definitive diagnosis by looking at the bottom of your foot, but if they see an unhealed sore or an ulcer, they can suspect it, and order more tests.
Diabetics often have hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) for long amounts of time. This high blood sugar:
1. impairs circulation, especially to the feet. If blood does not circulate properly to the feet, necrosis (tissue death) can occur.
2. impairs circulation, which slows healing.
3. may reduce sensation in the feet; a diabetic may not be aware of a cut or sore on his/her foot.
Diabetes may cause a host of foot problems. Read about these at http://www.medicinenet.com/foot_problems...
They cannot.
You need blood tests to diagnose diabetes.
Several things about your feet may make a doctor suspect diabetes (neuropathy, neuropathic arthritis (charcot foot), certain kinds of osteoperosis (diabetic osteolysis), circulation, certain skin lesions, and fungal infections that don't respond to treatment) but they would still need to see elevated blood sugar levels before they could have a firm diagnosis.
You cant diagnose diabetes by examining the foot.although its a common practice for doctors to palpate the pulses on the foot as weak pulses may signify peripheral arterial disease, a common complication of diabetes.
Signs of bad circulation. When you become Diabetic, you lose circulation to the outer extremities. If you have signs of low blood flow, you might be Diabetic.
That's one reason why it's important to control your blood sugar levels
Checking the feet is part of routine care for diabetics. The provider is checking for unhealed wounds and intact sensory perception.
This is just one clue to making a diagnosis. If they suspect you are diabetic, they can tell how far it has progressed by your reaction to light touch on your feet. Poor circulation in the feet often leads to amputation so they always monitor this area. If nothing else, the thought of amputation should scare the hell out of you so you change your eating and exercise habits.
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