Diabetic foot care at home
Diabetic feet need a nurse, not a salon
With diabetes, a nick from a clipper or a callus left too long can turn into something serious. Debbie is a licensed nurse who does this at your kitchen table, checks your feet the way a clinic would, and knows when to send you on.
What she checks at every visit
The trimming is the smallest part of it. The looking is the point.
Skin
Cracks, redness, pressure spots and anything that looks like the start of a sore. Dry heels are eased down and moisturized, never cut.
Circulation and feeling
She checks pulses and whether you can feel light touch. Numb feet get hurt without you noticing, so she looks harder where you can't feel.
Nails
Thick nails are trimmed straight and thinned gently with sterilized instruments, edges filed so nothing digs in. No soaking, no blades on skin.
When she sends you to a doctor
If she finds a wound, an infection, an ingrown nail that has gone deep, or circulation that worries her, she stops and tells you plainly. Then she helps you get in front of your physician or podiatrist. Ten years in wound care taught her which ones can't wait.
Between those visits she keeps the routine care up, so there is less for the doctor to find.
What it costs
The same flat price as any other visit. Nothing extra for diabetic care.
First visit
- $65 flat, home or facility
- A full look at your feet, then the first treatment
Visits after that
- $50 when residents in one building share a day
- Every four to six weeks is about right for most people with diabetes
- $300 buys six visits paid ahead