Monitor your diabetes and health daily, one step at a time

ByRobertHammer MHS Communications

If you have diabetes, monitoring your healthcanbealottomanage:checkingyour blood sugaropens CDC making healthy food,findingtimetobeactive takingmedicines, and going to doctor’s appointments Withallthat,yourfeetmightbethelastthing onyourmind.

“Poorly controlled diabetes can cause damage to the nerves and blood vessels goingtopeople’sfeet,”saidDr DanielLamar, aninternalmedicinespecialistwiththe56th MedicalGroupatLukeAirForceBaseopens LukeAFBinGlendale,Arizona “Asaresult, people can lose the sensation in their feet. This causes people to change the way they walk and may result in the development of soresontheirfeetthattheydon’tfeel.”

Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death opens CDCin the United States, with more than 11 percent of the U.S. population havingthedisease accordingtotheCenters forDiseaseControlandPrevention

According to the National Institutes for Healthopens NIH, foot problems are commoninpeoplewithdiabetes Checking and taking care of your feet every day can helploweryourchancesfordiabetes-related footproblems Managingyourbloodglucose levelscanalsohelpkeepyourfeethealthy.

Due to nerve damage in feet people can develop sores which then can get infected and be very difficult to treat because of the damage to the blood vessels, according to Lamar “The damaged blood vessels cause decreased blood flow which makes it hard for the immune system to respond and makes it difficult to get high levels of antibiotics to the area of infection. As a result, peoplecanendupwithamputations.”

When poorly controlled, Lamar notes thatdiabetescausescomplicationsthroughout the body. “It can damage all nerve cells including people’s retinas Diabetes is the mostcommoncauseofnontraumaticamputationsintheU.S,andisoneofthetwomost commoncausesofpeoplegoingondialysis

Itcanalsocausepeopletogoblind.”

When should you see the doctor?

Ifyouexperienceanyofthesesymptoms, youshouldseeyourdoctorrightaway:

„ Paininyourlegsorcrampinginyour buttocks,thighs,orcalves

„ Tingling,burning,orpaininyourfeet

„ Lossofsenseoftouchorabilitytofeel heatorcoldverywell

„ Achangeintheshapeofyourfeet overtime

„ Lossofhaironyourtoes,feet,and lowerlegs

„ Dry,crackedskinonyourfeet

„ Achangeinthecolorandtemperature ofyourfeet

„ Thickened,yellowtoenails

„ Fungusinfectionssuchasathlete’sfoot betweenyourtoes

How to Keep your Feet

Healthy

“Prevention is the best way to keep your feet healthy. Complications from diabetes are most associated with diabetes being poorly controlled. If a patient keeps their blood sugar under control, manages their weight, and has regular provider visits, it dramatically decreases the risk of longterm complications,” said Rachel Perkins Garner, a disease management nurse at Luke Air Force Base

Tips to maintain your feet include:

„ Check your feet every day for cuts swelling and blisters

„ Wash your feet every day.

„ Never go barefoot.

„ Wear shoes that fit well.

„ Trim your toenails

„ Get your feet checked with the doctor

Not all diabetes are the same

There are two types of diabetes, each with its own set of causes and treatments:

Type 1 diabetes: This is the rare form, makingupabout5%ofalldiabetes AccordingtotheCDC,Type1diabetesisachronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Treatment focuses on managing blood sugar levels with insulin, diet and lifestyle changes Unfortunately Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented. It is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

Type 2 diabetes: This is the most common type “Type 2 diabetes is caused primarilybygeneticfactorsandfattissue,” said Dr Lamar “As people have more fat tissue people with a genetic predisposition for Type 2 diabetes will have worsening insulin resistance.” Being overweight is a leading cause of Type 2 diabetes, and it keeps your body from using insulin properly “Many patients with Type 2 diabetes can cure it with weight loss, but even if weight loss doesn’t cure a person’s diabetes it will still make it easier to control,” Lamar said.

Lamarnotedthatifsomeoneisnotproperlycontrollingtheirdiabetes,theymaybe thirsty all the time and will urinate a lot.

“Peoplewithpoorlycontrolleddiabetesfeel generally poorly.”

Staying Healthy and Creating Lifestyle Change is Important

According to the CDC, eating healthy, regularexerciseandmaintainingahealthy weight can help control your diabetes With over 130,000 Department of Defense beneficiaries worldwide affected withdiabetes accordingtoPerkinsGarner theDefenseHealthAgencyseesanurgency in combatting this chronic disease

OneexampleofthisistheDOD’sfocuson promoting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle The U.S. Air Force has adopted Lifestyle and Performance Medicineopens AF Medicine to keep their airmen healthy.

According to Perkins Garner “Lifestyle medicine is an evidenced-based lifestyle therapeuticinterventionwhichisbasedon six pillars: a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections These interventions practiced, can prevent, treat, and often reverse chronic disease such as diabetes.”

2 Steps to Save a Life: The importance of Hands-Only CPR

FromFamilyFeatures/American HeartAssociation

Morethan350,000suddencardiacarrests occur annually outside hospital settings

However, a hands-on emergency intervention like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR),especiallyifperformedimmediately, candoubleortripleacardiacarrestvictim’s chanceofsurvival.

According to the American Heart Association, 70% of cardiac arrests - electrical malfunctionsintheheartthatcauseanirregularheartbeat(arrhythmia)anddisruptthe flow of blood to the brain, lungs and other organs-occurathome,butoftenfamilyand friends who witness a child spouse, parent orfriendgoingintocardiacarresthesitateto perform potentially lifesaving CPR for fear ofmakingthesituationworse

“By equipping people with Hands-Only CPR training, we are empowering them to spring into action if a loved one needs help, as the majority of cardiac arrests occur at home,” said Dr Anezi Uzendu, M.D interventional cardiologist and American Heart Association volunteer

As part of its Hands-Only CPR campaign, nationally supported by the Elevance Health Foundation, the American Heart Association aims to increase awareness about the importance of bystander CPR and offers these two simplesteps: „

1.Call911 „

2.Pushhardandfastinthecenterof thechestoftheindividualexperiencing cardiacarrest.

Using the beat of a familiar song with 100-120 beats per minute such as “Stayin’ Alive”bytheBeeGees canhelpyoustayon pacewiththenecessarycompressions BeingabletoefficientlyperformHandsOnly CPR in the moment can mean the difference between life and death, and by following these two simple steps we can increasesomeone’schanceofsurvivalfrom cardiac arrest, said Shantanu Agrawal, M.D., board certified emergency medicine doctor and chief health officer at Elevance Health. “As a longstanding supporter of the American Heart Association, we remain focused on working together to improve health inequities in our communities by expanding access to training and increasingthenumberofpeoplewholearnandfeel confident performing Hands-Only CPR to savelives.”

To find more information, watch a livestream video demonstration of Hands-Only CPRordownloadafirstaidsmartphoneapp, visitheart.org/CPR.