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Topics: Health
Britt Jones
A doctor has revealed an overlooked sign to do with your feet that could signal a major health concern.
While your feet may not be the first place you'd think about when it comes to your health, they actually can signal a fair few health issues.
There is athlete's foot and verrucas, bunions and more.
Essentially, your feet can help you to understand what’s going on inside of your body, and also flag up undiagnosed illnesses, like heart disease, or heart issues.
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According to Diabetes UK, around 5.8 million people in Britain have the illness, which is a condition that causes your blood glucose (sugar) level to become unstable and elevated.
When the body isn’t making any or enough insulin, or perhaps people are becoming insulin resistant, it can set in motion a difficult road.
Thankfully, a lot of people can manage their symptoms without the aid of medications like metformin or insulin, simply by eating differently or changing their lifestyle.
As per the NHS website, symptoms of diabetes vary, but commonly comes with people complaining of feeling thirsty all the time, urinating more than usual, feeling fatigued, and also losing weight without trying.
Type 1 diabetes is something that typically develops and is diagnosed in childhood but can’t be prevented by adopting lifestyle changes.
On the other hand, type 2 diabetes can sometimes be prevented through losing weight, eating heathier, managing your carbohydrate intake versus protein intake, or stopped completely with lifestyle changes and medication.
However, there’s a health complication that can come with type 2 diabetes, and your feet will tell you about it first.
Your feet and diabetes are linked, as people typically can experience things like foot discomfort, and more.
Dr Chris Steele spoke on ITV This Morning, and explained that your feet can tell you about your poor blood circulation.
“If your feet are cold in weather like this [hot weather] you’ve got a circulation problem,” he said. “Diabetes is a condition that can affect circulation. Another sign you need to get checked out is when you have pain in the calf muscles while walking.”
Dr Chris said if you have pain and you need to stop and relieve the pressure, it could also be a sign of circulation issues.
“Sometimes [sufferers] have to stop until the pain wears off,” he revealed. “That’s a sign of bad circulation to the lower leg and that needs to be looked at.”
According to diabetes.co.uk, people with diabetes could have their blood vessels become ‘damaged’ because of high blood sugar levels, which then leads to ‘plaque forming, rendering them unable to deliver a sufficient amount of blood to neighbouring cells.’
Cold feet, numb feet or hands, hair loss on feet, brittle toenails or wounds that don’t heal, are all other signs too.
The website wrote of other symptoms: “A pale blue colour to the skin of your legs (applies to lighter skinned people), dry or cracked skin, particularly on the feet, and wounds that don’t heal properly are common symptoms.”