I can remember when I was in training, which was pretty much like, from ‘93, to pretty much 2001. And diabetes at that time, was at the point where we started just to get to know the effects of diabetes, not only on other organs of the body, but especially the feet, the two components of diabetes that affect major portions of the body, like the feet, and the eyes it’s usually some type of circulatory problem and some problem dealing with the nerves. So you talking about either poor circulation, and a condition known as neuropathy, where people can’t even feel or have sensation in the lower extremities. So for example, if they get a cut on their foot, if they have poor circulation, they may not heal, if they get a cut on their foot, and they can feel it, there’s a possibility that they may not even recognize that it’s there, especially if it’s on the bottom. And so therefore poor circulation, our ability to feel, definitely will make it worse. And so the thing about it is, what I always encourage our patients to do is that you definitely have to have a good rapport, and a relationship with your primary care doctor, you have to go to your doctor on a regular basis. So that if you are diagnosed as a diabetic, you definitely need to be seen by a podiatrist on a regular basis, I think about every three to four months, and that you definitely need to see an ophthalmologist at least once a year. So the thing about it is definitely starts with education. It definitely starts with awareness, and making sure that you see a podiatrist or specialist as soon as possible. Don’t wait to the last minute because a lot of times are hit so many patients think that Oh, I had an injury to my foot. But I waited, I thought it was going to go away. And so one of the things I tried to advocate for is if you have an injury, if you drop something on your foot, you hit it that is a trauma traumatic episode that has happened to you or part of your body. Don’t take, don’t take for granted that it happened to your foot. Because a lot of times it’s – we need our feet to walk, we need our feet to dry. And we definitely need our feet to do our daily activities and especially do your job. Without a limb, the possibility of being able to work is paramount. And so if you can’t work, that means you can’t have the ability to earn an income. That means you do not want to be no longer become a productive citizen of society. And that leads into depression, that leads into loneliness. And as the Attorney General, I mean, as the Surgeon General has just stated maybe about eight months ago, loneliness and depression is an epidemic too. So so many things kind of interrelate with one another and we need to be able to make sure that our primary care doctors refer to the various specialists. So if a patient is newly diagnosed as a diabetic, make sure they at least get their foot exam.
