Diabetic Socks: How to Choose The Best Ones?
Diabetes is a common chronic disease that may require treatment and care throughout life. There are a variety of complications. Some of these can affect the feet. For example, there may be a risk of developing severe infections in this area. Therefore, the selection of socks for a person with diabetes is essential.
Neglecting a diabetic foot can lead to amputation of a toe, foot, or even a leg up to the knee.
Therefore, it is essential to maintain good foot care. In this sense, diabetic socks are specifically created to provide softness and comfort daily while preventing complications.
how to choose best diabetic socks?
Diabetes and feet
People who have diabetes are at constant risk of complications associated with having abnormal blood sugar levels. One of these, in particular, is nerve damage (known as neuropathy).
The most common neuropathy is one that affects the nerves in the feet. If you suffer from this type of problem, you are likely to have these symptoms:
- Numbness of the feet and toes.
- Very sharp pains in the feet, possibly worse at night.
- Extreme tingling or burning sensation in the feet.
- Muscular weakness.
- Foot deformities and presence of ulcers.
If diabetic neuropathy has affected your feet’ sensation, you are likely to injure yourself without even realizing it.
Something as simple as a shoe scratch can hurt your skin to the point of causing a small ulcer that you may not even notice.
If you don’t always check your feet for injuries, they can get worse and become infected. Good foot care when you are diabetic includes:
- The daily review of them in search of injuries.
- Blisters .
- Infections that need to be treated.
- In addition to wearing shoes that protect your foot and help prevent injuries, it is good to choose to wear diabetic socks.
What are Diabetic Socks?
What are the characteristics of diabetic socks?
Diabetic socks
There is a wide variety of diabetic socks. They are designed to minimize injury to your feet while keeping your feet dry and warm. To find the right pair of socks, you simply have to try to find the brand and style that best suits your needs.
Following are some of the types of diabetic socks available:
- Diabetic Sock Without stitches. Â The seams can easily cause blisters or ulcers on the skin when rubbed against it. That is why diabetic socks lack them. They absorb moisture. Keeping your feet dry is important to prevent infections and fungi.
- Breathable Diabetic Socks – They are made up of fabrics that allow to ventilate the humidity and keep the foot dry.
- Warm Diabetic Socks – Diabetes often causes blood vessels to narrow and poor blood circulation causes heat to leak out. Fabrics that help keep your feet warm will also improve your circulation.
- Square tip Diabetic Socks – Thin socks in the toe area can be overly tight. This causes discomfort and allows moisture to accumulate.
- Adaptable Diabetic Socks – Many diabetic socks fit your feet and legs. This prevents the fabric from loosening and bulging against the foot. Sometimes it can put pressure on it and cause injury.
- Padded Socks – The padded fabrics of this kind of sock protect the foot from abrasions with the shoe and absorb shocks, thus avoiding injuries.
What should you consider when choosing your diabetic socks?
As we have mentioned before, it is about choosing a pair of socks that are particularly suited to what you need as a person with diabetes.
If you have not developed any neuropathy type, it is as simple as choosing the socks with which you feel most comfortable.
If, on the other hand, you have new symptoms or signs of worsening neuropathy, you should consult with your doctor about which would be the best option for you. When you suffer from neuropathy and are looking for a good pair of socks, you must consider your current condition.
Meet the sock that can change it all for diabetes patients
In cases such as dryness or cracking of the skin, those made of soft material will be your best option. If your neuropathy is advanced, to the point of not having sensitivity, you must wear socks that fit perfectly to the foot and do not have seams to avoid the bulges of the fabric rub against your skin cause injuries.
Choosing the right diabetic socks also means keeping in mind that they fit your foot enough, but not so tight that it affects your circulation. Avoid tight-fitting socks or socks with the rubber band on top, which will worsen blood flow to your feet.
Maybe you may be interested: remove calluses on feet with these home remedies. Always wear diabetic socks with the correct shoes.
You have a large number of options to choose the socks that best suits your needs. However, you should also take your shoes into account.
Remember that no sock will help if your shoe is mistreating the feet and causing injuries and ulcers. Diabetic neuropathy can be severe, but you can avoid complications by finding the right socks and shoes.
If you feel like you need help, don’t hesitate to consult your doctor or podiatrist. They are the ones who can give you a professional opinion about what considerations you should take into account.