Good diabetic foot care is simple and it takes about two minutes. Look at both feet every day, wash and dry them gently, moisturize the tops and bottoms but not between the toes, check inside your shoes, and never go barefoot. Anything new gets reported to your care team, not treated at home.
This is the one topic where I get firm, and I want you to hear why before the list. I have sat with people who did everything "right" with food and still missed a pebble in a sock because the nerves had gone quiet. The injury did not hurt. That is the trick. You are not careless if you cannot feel it. You need a habit that does not depend on pain.
Here is the thing I want you to hear first. Two minutes. Every day. That is not fear. That is how we keep a small thing small.
I am Cheri Sacks, a registered nurse and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. I will not teach wound care from a blog. That belongs to a clinician who can see the wound. I will teach the two minutes at the edge of the bed. I work with your physician, not instead of them.
The short version
Diabetes can affect nerves and blood flow in your feet, so an injury can be serious before it feels serious. A daily look at both feet is the whole habit. No special equipment. Any open sore, blister, cut, or new redness is a same-day phone call to your care team. A foot that is suddenly red, hot, and swollen needs to be seen right away. Nails, calluses, and corns belong to a podiatrist. Nothing at home that involves cutting.
The ADA recommends a comprehensive foot evaluation at least once a year (ADA Standards, 2026, foot care).
NIDDK explains nerve damage and blood flow in Diabetes and Foot Problems, updated in 2026.
Call today if you notice
- Any new open sore, blister, cut, or break in the skin
- Redness, warmth, or swelling in one foot
- Drainage, odor, or pus
- Pain or numbness that changes suddenly
- An ingrown or infected toenail
- A foot that is newly red, hot, and swollen without an obvious injury
That last one can be Charcot foot, where bones weaken and can collapse. Do not wait out the weekend. Call your physician or podiatrist.
What diabetes does to feet
Daily looking is how you catch early changes when diabetes and your feet lose feeling or heal more slowly.
Two things stack. Nerve damage can steal feeling, so a pebble in a sock never announces itself. Reduced blood flow can make a small sore slow to heal. Charcot's foot may start with redness, warmth, and swelling. Later, bones can shift. Daily looking is how you catch the start.
The ADA's 2026 foot-care recommendations include a comprehensive foot evaluation at least annually: skin, deformities, nerve testing (10-g monofilament or Ipswich touch test plus another sensation test), and pulses. Take your socks off at visits. Make it easy for them to look. If they skip it, ask.
If you cannot feel your feet well, you are not careless. Your nerves have changed. The daily look is how we compensate.
The two-minute habit
When the shoes come off, give diabetes and your feet a two-minute look, including the soles and between the toes.
Look at the tops, soles, heels, and between the toes. Use a mirror or ask someone you trust. A good time is when the shoes come off in the evening, which is also when NIDDK suggests checking.
Wash in lukewarm water. Do not soak. Dry well, especially between toes. Moisturize tops and bottoms. Not between the toes. Extra moisture there encourages fungus and breaks in the skin.
Check inside shoes for pebbles, torn lining, or a nail. Wear shoes and socks. Not barefoot, not even at home if your feeling is off.
MedlinePlus diabetic foot matches this list.
Shoes that fit protect diabetes and your feet when you walk, and an open sore is a reason to call your clinician first.
If you walk for blood sugar, that is still good. Wear shoes that fit. If you have an open sore, switch to non-weight-bearing activity until a clinician says otherwise. See walking after meals. Talk with your physician before you keep walking on a sore.
A moment from practice. A man told me he "would know" if something was wrong because he had always been tough about pain. His monofilament test said otherwise. We put a mirror by the bed. Two minutes. No speech. Two weeks later he found a blister he had not felt. We called. Small stayed small. Toughness was not the tool. Looking was.
What I will not have you do at home
Do not cut corns or calluses. Do not use medicated pads that burn skin. Do not "just trim" an ingrown nail if you cannot see or feel well. That is podiatry. Cutting at home is how a quiet problem becomes a loud one.
Leave corns, calluses, and nails you cannot see well to a clinician, because cutting at home can make diabetes and your feet worse.
Tobacco makes blood flow worse. If you smoke, this is one of the kindest reasons to get help quitting. I will not lecture. I will tell you it matters for your feet. Ask your physician about support.
New shoes: a few hours at first, then look. A bargain pair that rubs is not a bargain.
Socks matter more than people think. Seamless if you can. Change them when they are damp. Tight elastic that leaves a deep ring is not support.
If you cannot see the soles, solve for that before you solve for anything prettier. A cheap mirror, a phone camera, a person you trust. If two minutes is still a mountain because depression or burnout is in the room, say that. We can attach the look to an existing moment: after teeth, after the kettle, when the shoes come off. The look still has to happen.
A final thought
Two minutes. Every day. That is how we keep a small thing small.
I offer diabetes education and coaching, one-to-one, and group when that is a better fit. We can build the rest of the daily plan around this. I will not treat a wound from a blog. The first conversation is a free call. You can book that here. Bring the mirror question if you cannot see the soles.
You do not need to do more. You need to do what works for your body.
With Care, Cheri Sacks, R.N., C.D.C.E.S. Your Neighbor, The Nurse
Education, not wound care or emergency advice. New sores need a clinician, not the internet. Please talk with your physician before you change a medicine, a meal plan, or an activity plan.
Related reading
- Walking after meals
- Living well with type 2 diabetes
- What is a CDCES
- 5 small changes that lower blood sugar
Frequently asked questions
At least once a year, and more often if you have had an ulcer, poor feeling, or poor circulation. High-risk feet (dialysis, Charcot, prior ulcer or amputation, poor circulation) belong with a podiatry-led team.
Often yes, in proper footwear, if there is no open sore. The ADA notes moderate walking may not increase ulcer risk in people with neuropathy who use proper shoes. An open sore is a stop. Ask your physician.
Extra moisture there encourages fungus and breaks in the skin.
A serious problem where a foot becomes red, hot, and swollen and bones can collapse. It needs urgent assessment, not a wait-and-see weekend. NIDDK describes the rocker-bottom shape that can come later. Catch it early.
Yes. Managing glucose, and looking at your feet, are the two pillars NIDDK names. Looking still matters on a good A1C week. Do not change medicines from this page. Talk with your doctor.
