Peer Reviewed
Diabetic foot care

Don’s duck feet

Angela Evans, Pat Phillips
Abstract
How would you assess this man’s foot eversion, and what could you do to prevent his risk of future problems resulting from an expected build up of callus?
Key Points
    Case history

    Don is 59-years-old and has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He has all of the ‘F words’ for diabetes:

    • he is over Forty years of age
    • he has a Family history of diabetes; his sister also has type 2 diabetes
    • he is Fat (weight 87.5 kg, height 1.75 m; BMI 28.6 kg/m2).

    You have advised Don to ‘eat less and walk more’, but he says he can’t walk 10 minutes a day, let alone 30 minutes, because his feet hurt.

    Don takes off his shoes and socks and shows you areas of callus on the medial side of the first metatarsal heads and great toes. These areas feel hot and become tender with walking.

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