Foot health vital to Cherokees with diabetes and high blood pressure
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professional nurse Phyllis Lopez performs a general foot exam on March 10 at
the Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital’s podiatry clinic. (Photo by Jami Custer)
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By Jami Custer
Staff Writer
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Feet, like other body parts, are important to people’s health. Foot health is particularly important for Native Americans because of their high risk of diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, which can have significant consequences on the feet.
“Providing good care for your feet can significantly reduce the risk of experiencing some of the most devastating complications,” Dr. David Randall of the Cherokee Nation W. W. Hastings Hospital said. “Another reason foot health care is important is that healthy feet allow a person to be active and to exercise which helps prevent and /or to manage these diseases.”
Common foot health issues that people might experience with regards to diabetes and high blood pressure include peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease.
“Both of these problems can increase the risk of amputation of a toe, part of the foot or leg. Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage that is often associated with diabetes and may be more severe or occur faster in the presence of uncontrolled high blood pressure,” Randall said. “Peripheral arterial disease is damage to the arteries carrying blood to the feet. This disease affects both the large arteries travelling from the heart through the legs to the feet, as well as the very small arteries and capillaries that deliver oxygen and nutrients to the different tissues in the feet.”
He said that less severe, but other common problems include dry skin and thick toenails.
Many problems connected to diabetes and high blood pressure that occur in the feet can be prevented and/or controlled if people take proper care of their feet. The best way to protect the feet, he said, is to “control the underlying disease…keeping the blood sugars and blood pressure in the normal range.”
He said this takes work on the patients’ part because they must keep in touch with their doctors, diabetes teams and take their medications regularly.
“Taking the medicine prescribed to control both diabetes and high blood pressure is very important in preventing and or delaying the onset and progression of these problems not only in the feet but also in the kidneys, eyes and heart,” he said. “It is also very important to understand that needing insulin does not mean that you will have more diabetic complications. Diabetes that is well controlled with insulin is much better than diabetes that is not well controlled taking pills only.”
Patients with diabetes should have foot exams annually as part of regular doctor visits or by podiatrists. To schedule an appointment with a CN podiatrists, a referral must be made from a physician who handles the patient’s diabetes or from a walk-in clinic.
The CN provides podiatry services at Hastings Hospital, Three Rivers Health Center in Muskogee, Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center in Stilwell, AMO Health Center in Salina and at the Nowata Clinic.
Some ways to keep feet healthy and protected include:• Look at the feet every day, at both the tops and bottoms. If you cannot see the bottoms then either a family member could look at them or you can hold a mirror near them so you can see the bottoms. Problems are easier to correct if they are caught early. • Wash the feet well, including in between the toe and dry in between the toes. • Never go barefoot even inside the house. Stepping on something that can cut or poke your foot can start problems in a hurry. • If you can’t see or reach your toenails or if they are too thick to cut or you need to dig them out with a pocket knife tell your doctor so they can help find a way for your toenails to be safely cut either by a family member, nurse or podiatrist. • Put lotion on your feet every day. Again this sounds simple, but if you put lotion on your feet every day you are paying attention to them and that goes a long way in not developing problems.
Reach Staff Writer Jami Custer at (918) 453-5560 or jami-custer@cherokee.org