Can Charcot Foot happen quite quickly ?

Dr Mushtaqur Rahman, Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist gives advice on staying healthy with Diabetic Foot problems. He talks about checking your own feet and looking out for problems. He also talks about using simple measures to keep you feet healthy. He says that if people develop nerve damage then the usual protective mechanisms of feeling pain don't work as well for you. Hence being more vigilant than other people is suggested - in the same way Bear Grills might check his boots for scorpions in the jungle!

Dr Mushtaqur Rahman, Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist talks about how often you should have foot checks done as a person with Diabetes. He stresses that having numbness or nerve damage in the feet is a very important to tell your healthcare providers. He explains that if you have any risk factors picked up by the yearly checks then you should be looked after by Podiatrists and potentially have more frequent foot checks done.

Dr Mushtaqur Rahman, Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist explains that amputation is something everyone wants to avoid. He goes on to explain why it is sometime needed. He talks about how neuropathy can often be the culprit for developing these problems. He also talks about how to avoid developing these problems.

Dr Mushtaqur Rahman, Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist talks about 'Acute Charcot's Foot'. This is where inflammation develops quickly in a Charcot's foot. He talks about pain in the foot in this situation may be actually very serious as a person with Diabetic Neuropathy (damage to the nerves of the foot from Diabetes) would not normally feel pain in their foot. He also talks about ways to treat an Acute Charcot Foot.

Dr Mushtaqur Rahman, Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist explains what the main problems with Diabetes causes in terms of feet. He talks about diabetic neuropathy and also peripheral vascular disease. He goes on to talk about neuropathy (nerve damage) and what it means. Dr Rahman explains that the numbness can be very severe and result in you not noticing injury at all. Once injury happens, then bacteria which live on the outside of the skin can move inside and cause damage to the bones and soft tissue. He also talks about a process which is caused by neuropathy which leads to your foot to be misshaped which again can lead to ulcers forming and infection getting inside.

Jayne Robbie, Senior Lecturer in Diabetes Care, Specialist Podiatrist talks about the process of doing a foot check for her patients with Diabetes. She talks about a visual check of a number of factors. She stresses how it's important to compare to what is normal for your feet personally. She also talks about checking shoe fitting. Jayne also asks people what sorts of treatments they are doing for themselves and check those for safety. She also talks about cultural issues in peoples health beliefs and explains what is safe and what may not be. Then she goes on to physical checks and explain tests which are done as well as asking you about the feeling in the feet.