The ABCS of foot care in diabetes: A is for anaesthesia

This second article on risk factors for foot problems in people with diabetes discusses the various aspects of peripheral neuropathy and provides guidelines for patients on caring for feet with nerve damage.

The ABCS of foot care refer to the major risk factors for foot problems in people with diabetes – A, anaesthesia (i.e. peripheral neuropathy); B, blood supply (i.e. peripheral vascular disease); C, care (i.e. routine preventive foot care); and S, structure (i.e. abnormal foot structure). This article reviews the first of these, peripheral neuropathy, and includes a patient handout on nerve damage. The previous article in this series, published in the November 2008 issue of Medicine Today, discussed the assessment of the podiatric ABCS, and future articles will discuss the other three risk factors. A patient handout on foot care for people with diabetes, ‘Your foot report’, will conclude the series.