04/02/2025
Think you need to see a podiatrist?
🦶Nail care. Long nails can lacerate the skin of adjacent toes. Thick nails can ulcerate the underlying nail bed and cause bacterial infections and abscesses. Nails can be ingrown and lacerate the nail borders causing infections. Fungal infections may also occur causing an athlete’s foot and bacterial superinfection. Painful nails can cause mobility issues and falls.
🦶🏻Corn and callus care. These skin lesions can be very painful and cause mobility issues and falls. They may also cause blisters which can lead to ulceration and gangrene.
🦶🏻Wounds and ulcers. Wounds may be injuries to the skin such as lacerations. Ulcers are often caused by calluses that go untreated, which develop into blisters. The base of the blister is the ulcerated tissue. Bedsores or decubitus ulcers are another type of ulcer. Ulcers can extend to the level of bone and cause bone infections.
🦶🏻Bone infections or osteomyelitis. Infections of wounds and ulcers can extend deep to tendons, muscles, ligaments and bones. Local infections of the feet can lead to systemic infections throughout the body, known as sepsis.
🦶🏻Skin conditions.
Podiatrists treat fungal and other skin conditions, including suspicious lesions.
🦶🏻Musculoskeletal conditions. Podiatrists treat injuries and other painful deformities such as hammertoes, bunions and plantar fasciitis.
🦶🏻Neurological conditions.
Podiatrists treat burning and tingling in the feet, including neuritis and neuromas.
🦶🏻Circulation conditions.
Podiatrists treat swelling, gangrene and other circulatory conditions.
Podiatrists are healthcare professionals that treat the above conditions by medical, surgical and biomechanical means, including the modalities below:
🦶🏻Nail trimming and debridement. This is not a pedicure and is not for a cosmetic purpose or constitute a spa treatment. It is for patient safety to have the nails at a proper length and thickness, preventing and treating ingrown nails and infections, both bacterial and fungal.
🦶🏻Paring of calluses. This reduces pain and reduces risk of ulceration.
🦶🏻Wound debridement and care. This involves removal of non-viable, infected tissue and applying proper wound dressings such as local antibiotics.
✅Podiatrists can alert patients and care home staff to arrange for ongoing wound care at the facility, or the patient can be brought to the podiatrist’s office for ongoing care.
✅Antibiotics. Podiatrists can arrange oral antibiotics and alert facility staff to arrange for ongoing physician care, such as vascular and infectious disease specialists, as well as hospitalisation.
Other board-certified medical and surgical services.
✅Podiatrist work with at least four body systems: vascular or circulation, neurological, dermatological or skin, and musculoskeletal.
✅Podiatrists are very important members of the healthcare team.
Employees of long-term care facilities should become knowledgeable about the services podiatrists provide and utilise them appropriately. They should also communicate to residents properly regarding the nature and scope of the podiatrist’s services.
Luckie Foot Clinic
Call today: 01202 721417
