Cracked Heels Sign Of Diabetes

Diabetes is the most common non traumatic cause of leg amputations.

Cracked heels sign of diabetes. Diabetes also affects the flow of blood throughout your body. The first sign of cracked heels is having areas of dry thickened skin known as callouses around the rim of your heel. Diabetes can mean double trouble for your feet. High blood sugar and poor circulation resulting from diabetes are.

When diabetes affects the skin it s often a sign that your blood sugar glucose levels are too high. This makes it more difficult for blisters sores. If you are diabetic it is important to examine your feet frequently for signs of cracks. You have undiagnosed diabetes or pre diabetes.

According to the national institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases niddk high blood glucose levels feed germs causing them to multiply and making infections more difficult to treat. Each year more than 56 000 people with diabetes have amputations. This lack of effective blood circulation makes it harder for a sore or cut to heal. Your treatment for diabetes needs to be adjusted.

While dry cracked heels can be a result of a number of factors such as exposure to cold weather dehydration taking too long in a hot bath and or shower and using hard soaps cracked heels could also be one of the first signs of diabetes or a thyroid problem. First diabetes can reduce blood flow to your feet depriving your feet of oxygen and nutrients. Athlete s foot is a fungus that causes itching. If your foot sustains an injury and there isn t adequate blood flow to help heal the wound there is a risk of the tissue developing necrosis or dying and eventually becoming gangrene.

People with diabetes are even more likely to sustain an infection from cracked heels than non diabetics. The answer is yes. However research suggests that more than half of these amputations can be prevented through proper foot care. For people with diabetes however these common foot problems can lead to infection and serious complications such as amputation.

Cracked feet are prone to infection and in those with diabetes the risk of serious infection is even greater.