Prevention and treatment

The podiatrist
• initiates and follows up treatment
• advises on proper footcare management.
• tries to motivate a change towards more foot-friendly footwear
• alleviates discomfort by providing insoles for the patient’s own shoes, special footwear or custom-moulded shoes
• promotes mobility by fitting walking braces
• tries to prevent small wounds and infections from becoming ulcers
• in the case of loss of feeling, a template of the foot is made for use when buying new footwear
• in the case of foot ulcers, a wound-management plan is made
• in the case of complicated and infected foot ulcers admission to the outpatient ward may be necessary.

The patient’s diabetes management plan is checked and adjusted if the blood glucose level is too high. A high blood glucose level will slow down the speed at which wounds heal.