A Portland Podiatrist’s Tips for Managing Diabetic Foot Care While Traveling
Diabetes never takes a vacation. Patients must continue to manage this chronic condition, particularly its effects on foot health, no matter where they travel.
Keeping on top of foot health during your travels may seem like a daunting task. These tips for diabetic foot care from a knowledgeable podiatrist in Portland at the Northwest Extremity Specialists can make foot care on the go more manageable for people with diabetes.
Foot Risks of Traveling When You Have Diabetes
It’s no mystery why people with diabetes often worry about their feet, even while on vacation. An otherwise minor scrape or blister could become a long-lasting problem for patients with diabetes. Diabetic foot care complications like peripheral neuropathy pose a significant risk of ulcers and wounds that won’t heal, infections, and tissue death.
Traveling can be hard on your feet in many ways. Just getting to your destination may pose risks. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention warns that traveling for just four hours by car, plane, bus, train, or another mode of transportation that limits your mobility during the trip may put you at risk of blood clots. For people with diabetes, who often already have poor circulation, the risk of potentially deadly blood clots may be even greater.
With a bit of proactive preparation and a plan for managing your health during your travels, you can enjoy your vacation without sacrificing the health of your feet.
5 Tips for Avoiding Complications and Other Injuries When Traveling
1. Assess Your Foot Health Before You Leave
Do you have any sores, cuts, blisters, or wounds on your feet? The time to address these injuries is before you leave to give them time to heal. Plan a check-in with a podiatrist in Portland before you take off to ensure your feet are fit to travel and proactively intervene if needed. Don’t ignore foot wounds, or you risk them getting worse.
2. Got New Shoes? Be Prepared
Whether you’re packing new sandals for the beach, snow boots for the slopes, or sneakers to withstand walking all day in an amusement park, your footwear can make or break your vacation, especially if you have the complications of diabetes to worry about.
Make sure boots intended for cold-weather destinations are insulated and waterproof and allow for proper blood flow. If traveling to warm climates, avoid flat, flimsy flip-flops and instead invest in a pair of warm-weather shoes that offer proper support.
Start breaking in your new shoes before your trip so you won’t spend days of your travel time nursing painful blisters and potentially developing hard-to-heal foot ulcers.
3. Pack With Foot Care in Mind
Don’t leave home without your custom orthotics, if prescribed, or a good pair of off-the-shelf diabetic inserts to redistribute pressure and prevent injury to the foot. Moisture-wicking socks are great for traveling to hot climates, as are supportive sandals and breathable footwear that reduce the likelihood of excessive sweating that can give rise to fungal infections.
You’ll also need a good moisturizing foot cream, bandages, and antibacterial cream for any minor wounds that develop. If you’re flying, be sure to pack these and other items necessary for managing your diabetes, such as your glucometer, test strips, insulin, and other diabetes medications, in your carry-on bag to avoid the risk of losing these medical necessities.
4. Forgo Bare Feet
As appealing as walking barefoot on the beach and feeling the sand under your toes may be, remember that bare feet are vulnerable. Sharp shells and sea glass could scrape or cut your feet, and the damp environments surrounding swimming pools and saunas are breeding grounds for the fungi that can cause skin and nail infections.
5. Follow a Foot Care Routine During Your Trip
Throughout the course of your trip, prioritize the health and well-being of your feet. Make time to regularly apply lotion to your feet during your travels to help prevent dryness and cracking. If your feet will be exposed to the sun, make sure you apply sunscreen thoroughly and repeat as needed. Check your feet daily for dryness, cuts, wounds, blisters, insect bites, and, in cold climates, signs of frostbite.
What to Do If You Develop Foot Injuries or Complications on Vacation
Even the most thorough preparation can’t guarantee no harm will come to your feet during your travels. If you face foot problems while visiting Portland, or if you return home to Portland with your feet a little worse for the wear after vacation, don’t hesitate to see our diabetic wound care specialists. A key benefit of seeing a podiatrist is having the expertise of a doctor who focuses exclusively on the feet and ankles, including the impact of diabetic foot wounds.