SOADI Frontline Training - CAMH - Nicotine Dependence Clinic

SOADI FRONTLINE TRAINING 25
Proper Foot Care
Objectives
By the end of this training session, participants will:
• Understand the principles of proper foot care.
• Understand the importance of our feet.
Diabetes’ Effects
Too much sugar in the blood causes cells to stick together and
become locked in the blood vessels causing blockages. These
blockages can then cause:
• Poor circulation—limits the blood flow carrying food and
oxygen from your heart to the rest of your body, especially your
feet. This affects the body’s ability to heal itself which ultimately
encourages infection. Because the body responds slower, it has
trouble getting healthy blood to the infected areas.
• Neuropathy—a condition resulting in the loss of sensation, or
nerve damage, due to decreased blood flow. The early stages of
neuropathy cause tingly feelings in the feet.
• Complications—kidney disease affects proteins that are
involved in wound-healing, and eye damage can make it difficult
to check for foot damage daily.
Your feet walk upon the earth
and through this, your spirit is
connected to the Universe.
Jenny Wallace
Cherokee, North Carolina
History of Reflexology
Assessment and Risk Screening
A person living with diabetes is at risk to develop foot complications
when he or she is not:
• Effectively managing diabetes.
• Controlling blood-sugar levels.
• Taking medication properly.
• Exercising.
• Being careful about what is put into the body.
A person is at high risk if he or she has a:
• History of foot ulcers—a wound that took two or more weeks to
heal.
• Loss of sensation—cannot feel monofilament test.