April is Foot Health Awareness Month

Right now, 6.7 million Americans are living with a chronic wound, and more than two million of those are suffering from a diabetic foot ulcer. April is Foot Health Awareness Month and is a great opportunity to highlight the importance of foot health, common foot wounds and available treatments.

Are your feet at risk? Some of the primary risk factors for wounds of the feet include neuropathy, deformity of the foot, history of foot ulceration, absent or diminished pulses and prior amputation.

Those with diabetes should be especially concerned with the health of their feet. Diabetes may cause nerve damage for some people. If this happens, the nerves no longer perceive pain due to numbness and therefore do not alert a person to potential injury. Up to 70 percent of diabetic individuals experience diabetic neuropathy, and up to 25 percent of all diabetics will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime. An estimated 15 percent of diabetics with a foot ulcer will require an amputation.

With foot ulcers preceding 80 percent of non-traumatic lower extremity amputations, the Comanche County Memorial Hospital Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine® recommends the following foot care techniques to keep your feet healthy: