Diabetes Care, Footwear, and Medicare

Article submitted by Beverly Coleman at C & A Medical Supplies.
For more information, she can be reached at 251-928-2836 or 888-762-2836.

As a diabetic, did you know that Medicare might reimburse your provider for specialty footwear? This includes not only special shoes, but also insoles molded especially for your foot.

As all diabetics know, you must be very attentive to your feet. According to Dr. Graham Dark, as quoted on a popular medical dictionary website, long standing or poorly controlled diabetes can cause permanent peripheral and autonomic nerve dysfunction known as diabetic neuropathy. In plain language, if you don't take care of your feet you face serious consequences. If undetected foot problems deteriorate to infections, and unattended infections cause more serious problems, amputation can be the only recourse.

Prevention is preferable to treatment. Medicare realizes that good foot care can prevent diabetic neuropathy and result in less costly treatment. So, it makes sense for Medicare to help diabetics with the cost of proper footwear and likely avoid the higher cost of serious treatment. Since this policy has been in effect, Medicare acknowledges a decline in amputations.

What can you do to help yourself? First, have someone check your feet weekly. Simply poking the bottoms of your feet with monofilament line will expose the beginnings of neuropathy. Secondly, be sure your doctor checks your feet each visit. Third, but not finally, avoid conditions like tight elastic socks or rough inseams that aggravate your feet. Prevention is preferable to treatment; take the time to do it!