text: Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Schneider. As a podiatrist here in Houston, Texas, I see a lot of diabetic patients. In fact, it's one of my missions to prevent diabetic foot problems and diabetic foot ulcers and diabetic sores on people's feet. That's because once something develops, it's very difficult to get it healed. It takes a very long time and it puts you at greater risk of forming a more substantial infection that could go to the bone that can cause an amputation. And again, my goal is to prevent that from happening for you.
  Performing a Daily Diabetic Foot Inspection
  I can only do as much as I can do when I see you in the office. I need you to take some responsibility when you're at home and we'll do that very simply with a 30 second diabetic foot check before you go to bed every night. Every night, I want you to look on the bottom of your feet, the top of your feet and between your toes. And essentially, you're looking for anything that wasn't there yesterday.
  - Any redness
  - Any callus
  - Anything sticking out of the bottom of your foot
  - Any hole in your foot
  - Any pus
  - Any bleeding
  - Any ulcer
  Anything like that is important for me to know about as soon as possible.
  What To Do If You Notice a Problem
  If you notice something, you pick up the phone, you call the office and you say, "I'm diabetic. I checked my feet and I think I have a problem." And we'll get you in truly for an immediate appointment.
  Why You Need to do a Diabetic Foot Inspection Daily
  Well, why an inspection every day? Why not once a week? Well, if you inspect your feet every night before you go to sleep and you get into that habit, you're going to find that if you do find something you'll know that it's no more than 24 hours old. And the sooner we get on top of something, the faster we'll be able to heal it.
  So if you're diabetic, please get into this habit of a diabetic foot check every night before you go to sleep, it will be worth your while. Even if you don't see anything for years, the one day where something comes up, you'll be happy that you have the routine of doing this. And of course, like I said, if you have any problems at all, give us a call at the office for an immediate appointment.