Mother-in-law suffered from type 2 diabetes for more than ten years. Recently, she felt a little pins and needles in her feet. She was diagnosed as a complication of diabetes in her hometown hospital-diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Her wife was very anxious and bought a train ticket to go home to visit. Near the Spring Festival, she always brought some gifts back.
My wife asked me, “My mother is ill, how about buying some what?” You are a doctor, come up with an idea! ]
I said to my wife, “You can buy Mom a small mirror, a white cotton towel, and prepare some socks and a pair of shoes that fit your feet.”
[Why do you buy these things? How stingy! His wife’s face was full of doubts.
I told my wife, [I’m going to use these things to teach my mother to prevent diabetic foot! ]
When diabetic peripheral neuropathy occurs, Feet feel slow, even injury is not easy to detect. If infected by bacteria, may fester, resulting in diabetic foot. In addition, the elderly lower limb arteries have hardened plaque, blood circulation is not good, coupled with cold weather, vasoconstriction, blood circulation is worse, wound is difficult to heal, serious cases will form gangrene, amputation, toe amputation.
Therefore, I also took advantage of going home to visit my elders and told them some matters needing attention in daily nursing.
Help elders wash feet
Back home, my mother-in-law bought food and cooked for a busy day. Before going to bed, my mother-in-law wanted to burn her feet with hot water. My wife prepared a large basin of hot water. My mother-in-law was about to put her feet in when I stopped her.
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Due to the possibility of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, some patients are not sensitive to cold and heat, and scalding due to high water temperature is common.
I told my mother-in-law that it is best to try the water temperature with my hands when washing feet and feel slightly warm.
If the hand feels numb, it indicates that there is also peripheral neuropathy and it may not be sensitive to cold and hot stimulation. It is better to ask the old father-in-law or other relatives, or to measure the water temperature with the temperature yourself, and the temperature should be controlled at about 37 ℃.
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Wash feet for 10 ~ 20 minutes each time. If the foot skin is damaged, bullae and burns, don’t wash feet.
After my mother-in-law washed her feet, my white cotton towel came in handy. I dried her carefully and examined all the skin including between her toes.
Although she felt numbness in her feet, fortunately she had not found any ulcers or wounds.
- After washing the feet, the back of the foot and the sole of the foot must be dried, including all the joints between the toes. It is best to wipe with a white pure cotton dry towel, which is not only easy to dry, but also easier to find whether there is blood or pus. It is also a good method to blow dry the feet with a small wind of an electric hair dryer. When the feet are dry and chapped, you can apply moisturizer after washing your feet.
Carry out [inspection + maintenance] for elders’ feet.
After washing her feet, my mother-in-law was ready to go to bed. I took out the small mirror and gave it to her. Is the mirror used by what?
The skin on the instep and between the fingers of the foot can be directly seen with eyes. However, the elderly may not be able to move their legs and feet conveniently, so they can use small mirrors to help them see the soles of their feet clearly.
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Diabetic patients should check their feet at least once a day. If corns, redness, cyanosis, ulceration and other phenomena are found, do not deal with them by themselves. Please seek help from a doctor.
I told my mother-in-law that in addition to routine [inspections] every day, regular [maintenance] is required, including:
- At ordinary times, you can take appropriate walks, Taijiquan, square dancing and other exercises. You can also pinch and rub your feet when resting, so as to promote the blood circulation of lower limbs better from the foot to the lower leg. Don’t sit cross-legged and don’t wear tight pants. Don’t cut your toenails too deep, reserve a little to protect the foremost part of your toes from trauma. Smoking can cause arterial spasm, affect blood circulation and aggravate the symptoms of diabetes, so you should quit smoking.
Buy shoes and socks for elders
My mother-in-law is very thrifty and reluctant to throw away her socks after wearing holes, so I specially chose some pairs of wool socks. Tell her to change them every day and don’t be reluctant to wear new ones.
- Keep your feet warm when it is cold, Choose cotton socks or wool socks, The tightness is appropriate. It is not recommended to use hot water bag, electric heater or hot compress for heating, otherwise it will increase the risk of scalding. Do not wear socks with patches or holes. Because patches will increase the friction between socks and feet, may damage the skin of feet, and socks with holes also lose their protective effect. In order to ensure the cleanness of feet, socks should be replaced every day as much as possible.
My mother-in-law usually likes to wear flat-bottomed cloth shoes with very thin soles. We plan to take her to buy a pair of better and more suitable shoes. There are also many exquisite choices of shoes. In detail, there are the following:
- In the afternoon or at dusk, After a day’s activity, The size will be slightly larger than in the morning. It is suitable to choose shoes at this time. Between the big toe and the toe, Shoes that can reserve half a big toe are more suitable. The sole should be elastic cotton wool sole. Plastic bottom, artificial leather and the like are inelastic and have weak shock absorption effect. It will increase the pressure on the sole of the foot and cause it to be injured. Try not to choose, Also do not choose high heels and slippers for a long time. Newly bought shoes, Wearing time should be gradually increased, Wear it for an hour or two on the first day. After that, add an hour or two every day. After trying on, you should patiently check your feet for damage, blisters, etc. Before wearing shoes, you should carefully check whether there are sundries in your shoes. Do not wear shoes barefoot or walk. Diabetic foot treatment shoes and insoles help reduce plantar pressure and prevent and treat diabetic foot, which requires [personal tailor], and a few hospitals in China have conditions to customize.
How to do with blisters on your feet?
After buying shoes, our family began to go shopping and enjoy the rare time of company.
In the evening, my mother-in-law felt something strange in her left foot. I saw that it took too long to walk and blisters were worn out at the bottom of her left foot. I immediately bandaged her briefly and reminded her to tell me if she felt uncomfortable.
- If there are blisters in the lower limbs, Do not break, Wrapped with aseptic gauze, Go to the hospital. In case the blisters burst, It can be sterilized with iodophor, See a doctor as soon as possible. If foot ulceration has occurred, Can use crutches and wheelchairs, Avoid suffering from foot weight. Under the guidance of doctors, control hyperglycemia and anti-infection treatment, supplemented by dressing change or surgical debridement, etc. If beriberi is present at the same time, the wound is more susceptible to infection, please treat tinea pedis at the same time. If the wound is swollen, you can raise the height of a pillow when sleeping to accelerate blood backflow and eliminate edema.
My mother-in-law was very satisfied with my uncle’s performance and told me that I would pay attention to my blood sugar and foot conditions.
When we go home to visit our elders during the Spring Festival, we always worry about choosing gifts. In fact, it is best to bring [enough] health back. Health is the best gift.
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