The daily habit that can save a foot from diabetes

Dr Mohammad Hifz Ur Rahman

Ask a person with diabetes about their blood sugar, and many can tell you the number. Ask when they last looked at their feet, and most will pause. Yet the feet are where some of the most serious harm from diabetes begins, quietly and often painlessly.
High blood sugar slowly damages the nerves and blood vessels of the legs. Feet lose the feeling that warns of a stone in the shoe or a burn from hot ground. A small wound goes unnoticed and becomes infected. Up to one in three people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime, and most amputations begin with one.
About one in seven adults in Oman has diabetes. Between 2002 and 2013, people with diabetes accounted for 47 per cent of all lower-limb amputations in Oman's public hospitals. A 2026 review of Omani studies found that more than half did not know what causes diabetic foot problems, about half walked barefoot, and fewer than four in ten checked their feet regularly.
The good news: simple foot care can cut the risk of ulcers and amputations by up to 85 per cent. This year's World Diabetes Day theme, “Early action on diabetes', applies to feet too.
Six habits that protect the feet
Make wudu a foot check. Many people already wash their feet several times a day before prayer. Use those moments to look at the soles, heels and between the toes for cuts, blisters or redness, then dry well between the toes. A mirror or a family member can help.
Never walk barefoot. Sun-exposed sand, tiles and paving can burn the sole even on a mild day, and a numb foot gives no warning. A UAE doctor has described a man with diabetes whose soles were burned walking to Friday prayers in summer. Leave footwear near the mosque door, walk in the shade, and wear sandals at home too.
Choose footwear that fits. Shoes should not press or rub. Feel inside for stones before putting them on.
Care for skin and nails. Moisturise cracked heels, but not between the toes. Cut nails straight across. Leave corns to a health professional, and never warm a numb foot with hot water.
Have your feet examined. A nurse or doctor can test for loss of feeling in a minute with a thin nylon filament and check the foot pulses: at least yearly, more often if you are at higher risk. The Ministry of Health has set up nurse-led diabetic foot clinics in health centres since 2004.
Do not wait. A new blister, cut, colour change or swelling needs prompt professional care, not a week of waiting at home.
Many older people cannot see or reach their own soles. A family member who checks a parent's feet once a week can catch trouble early.
A foot that is looked at every day is far less likely to be lost. This World Diabetes Day, take two minutes and look down.
The views expressed are his own.