No matter how well cared the rest of your body is it is important to keep your legs and hands groomed.

This routine can be done once a week.

Daily routine.

·         In a foot bath or bucket take warm water, and pour a cup full of marbles. Then run your feet on it. Try to pick the marbles with your toes and let it loose.

·         Use a moisturizer or foot cream every night and cover your feet with socks.

Pampering your feet.

This routine can be done once a week.

1.      Soak feet in a bowl of hot water. add two three drops of essential oil.

2.      Dry the feet and clip the toenails.

3.      If your nails are very stained then use a nail whitner.

4.      Rub the feet with an exfoliating body sucub,

5.      Support the feet

6.      Work lotion between the feet,reactivating the pressure points

7.      Put your feet up for a while.

Buying a footwear seems so simple actually it is and it is not,  you need to spend a little while on it. Style and colour apart, it would be good to go through the following routine.

1.      Have your feet measured by a salesperson.
Many people jump ahead to trying on the shoes without checking the length and width of each foot. It is important to know to proper size of your feet and if your feet are slightly different sizes.

2.      Shop for the larger foot.
If your feet are different sizes, buy a shoe that best fits the larger foot. If you need, buy an insole to fill space in the other shoe.

3.      Make sure the shoe fits your heel and your toes.
The toebox should provide ample wiggle room, and the heel should not slip up when walking.

4.      Go for a walk in the store.
Make sure the shoe is comfortable for a short walk around the store--any pain is only going to be worse on a long walk.

5.      Don't think a shoe will 'break-in.'
This is a common misconception that shoes should be purchased snug so they can break-in. Wrong! Shoes should fit when you buy them.

Tips:

1.      Stand up when measuring your feet.
Do your footwear shopping towards the end of the day after you've been up and walking for a few hours. Under these conditions your feet will be slightly larger than in the morning. End-of-the-day shopping is the best way to buy footwear.

2.      Remeasure your feet each time you buy new shoes.
Measure your feet each visit as your shoe size can change over time. And never buy a shoe based on size alone--try them on!

Foot Facts~ How Foot Smart Are You? DID YOU KNOW... More than 70% of all people have painful foot problems at some time during their lifetime.    Foot pain is not normal. Take these quizzes to see how much of a Foot care Expert you are! (Answes can be found at the bottom of the page.) Quiz I Some famous people down through the ages have made memorable statements about feet or have otherwise influenced the way we think about feet and shoes. Can you identify the person connected with the following? Which Greek philosopher said, "When our feet hurt, we hurt all over"? Plato Socrates Aristotle Which Renaissance artist called the foot "a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art"? Leonardo da Vinci Raphael Michelangelo What hero of ancient Greece gave his name to the largest and strongest tendon in the foot? Ulysses Jason Achilles DID YOU KNOW... The average person, engaging in non-strenuous activity, walks approximately 4 miles every day or about 115,000 miles in a lifetime. Quiz II Use these numbers to answer the following questions about parts of the foot - 5, 20, 26, 33, 100 How many of the body's 206 bones are located in each foot? How many joints hold these bones together? How many muscles are used to move the bones of each foot? How many ligaments join these bones? (This one's easy...) How many nails protect the toes of each foot? DID YOU KNOW... During a typical day, the feet endure a cumulative force of several hundred tons. Answers to Quiz I: 1)B 2)A 3)C Answers to Quiz II: 1) 26, 2) 33, 3) 20, 4) 100, 5) 5 YES, IT'S TRUE... The human foot is a highly specialized structure containing 26 relatively small bones, more than 150 ligaments and an intricate network of muscles, nerves and blood vessels.

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foot care for a diabetic-- a ready reckoner

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder of the pancreatic cells. This is a combination of hereditary factors and lifestyle disturbance.
The general symptoms being Polydipsia(extreme thirst), polyuria (lot of urination) polyphagia increasing need to munch or eat, there are chances of loss of peripheral vision, breathe smells of acetone, weight loss, hyperventilation when it comes to breathing, nausea, vomiting , abdominal pain, glycosuria (sugar in the urine)
What happens here the hormone insulin which regulates the uptake of glucose by the cells reduces in levels, which means the glucose required for cells is reduced.
Diabetic neuropathy is one of the complication diabetes, there is abnormally decreased sensation starting from the feet, and then moves on to the other nerves, it referred to as stocking and glove pattern. If this combines with the damaged blood vessels then we could land with a diabetic foot. This manifests as skin infection, ulcers and may move on gangrene when we are left with no option but to go in for a surgery. In fact diabetic gangrene amputation accounts for the largest non traumatic cause for amputation.
Some common diabetic foot problems
Corns
callus
Ingrown toes
Planter warts
Blisters
Bunion
Hammertoes
Dry cracked skin
Athletes feet
This condition can be avoided by taking proper care of the feet.
The feet have to be checked every day including between the toes.
even if you feel the slightest decrease in sensation to your feet talk to your diabetologist
Cracks, corns, callus of the feet should be brought to the attention of the doctor and not neglected or self medicated.
a moisturising cream can be used on the legs but please avoid using it between the toes it can cause fungal infection
clip your nails following the curve of the nail than straight across, if need be take someone’s help
wash and dry your feet particularly between the toes regularly do it as an evening ritual this will help to gauze the sensation too
never walk barefoot , wear a foot wear even at home
wear comfortable socks when wearing shoes
buying comfortable shoes
Buy a pair that will accommodate abnormalities like bunions or collapsed tarsal plates.
have broad fronts that allow movement and breathing of toes
pick low heels to prevent embarrassing the toes
Have good lace guard or Velcro so that the inner surface does not bruise the skin.
Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by narrowing of the blood vessels and decreased sensation due to peripheral neuropathy, the wound tends to get aggressively infected and necrotic due to the presence of higher blood sugar
For whatever reasons if the foot ulcer does develop then the following care should be taken.
Ulcer should be covered with a dressing
A nurse of a podiatrist should handle the re-dressing till healing is complete
Depending on the size of the ulcer it might require padding to take the pressure off.
Special footwear maybe required to keep the pressure minimum
Antibiotics may be required to keep the infection in control.
If there is cellulites then the puss may have to be drained.
In very severe cases widening of the arteries may be needed.
in all the foot care is essential in a diabetic to prevent amputation of the feet due to development of a diabetic ulcer which in turn is a result of thickened arteries and peripheral neuropathy or loss of sensation in the feet.