Diabetes Ireland urges people with diabetes to be proactive in looking after their feet and book a foot assessment with a podiatrist as diabetes related amputations remain high despite limited access to healthcare services during Covid times

Diabetes Ireland is encouraging adults of all ages who have diabetes to ensure they have a full and proper foot assessment by a podiatrist or other appropriate healthcare professional. People with diabetes have special reason to take good care of their feet. Long term high blood glucose levels may make feet susceptible to injury and infection. This is because the protective sensation in the toes or feet, the “pain alarm system” may slowly disappear due to long term exposure to high blood glucose levels.

Did you know that a person living with diabetes is 22 times more likely to undergo a non-traumatic lower limb amputation than an individual without diabetes?

New diabetes footcare statistics data published, obtained by Roisin Shortall TD, shows that 608 people with diabetes underwent a lower limb amputation in 2020, accounting for 69% of the total procedures carried out in the year. There was a further 2,536 people with diabetes hospitalised requiring foot ulceration treatment spending on average 14 days in hospital for treatment in 2020. Despite limited access to diabetes review appointments during the past 2 years, it seems from this data that diabetes related amputations and diabetes foot ulceration in patient numbers remain high year on year.

You can read the latest data on our website here. It provides a county-by-county breakdown of both diabetes related lower limb amputations and diabetes foot ulceration in patient numbers over the period 2016-2020.

With such high numbers, Diabetes Ireland is asking people with diabetes to be proactive by booking a foot assessment which will identify any problems and allow treatment to be undertaken early thus preventing more serious problems from occurring. It recommends that people should examine their feet daily and be on the lookout for small cuts, changes in skin colour and temperature, red areas and swelling. They also must check they have continuing sensation in their feet and be alert to signs such as prickly pain in the feet, numbness and peculiar sensations such as a feeling of walking on cotton or of wearing tight socks. This is important as without a pain alarm system, injuries and poor fitting shoes may go unnoticed.

If you would like more tips and tricks to help care for your feet, click here for advice and information on footcare and a detailed list of what to look for.

Diabetes Ireland now has over 5,000 clients attending their preventative footcare services in Dublin & Cork. These services were set up to provide people with access to a high-quality and unique podiatry appointment service.

We are the only podiatry clinic in Ireland who offers up to 1 hour for your first appointment, a full diabetic foot screen and assessment. Our Podiatrists prefer to take their time to fully understand the patients needs and provide you with a full and thorough assessment and treatment. For more information on what services we provide in our clinics and what to expect from your first appointment, click here.

A footwear assessment is also carried out with professional shoe fitting where necessary. A choice of footwear (shoes & socks) is available at extremely competitive prices.

To book an appointment, ring our Dublin Care Centre on 01 8428118 or our Cork Care Centre on 021 4274229

or log onto diabetes.ie.

Click here to book your first appointment now