11/04/2025
Did you know that November is National Diabetes Awareness Month?
When you have diabetes, finding time for skin care can seem like a luxury. Monitoring your glucose level, sticking to a meal plan, finding time to exercise, and managing stress can definitely take priority.
Dermatologists caution that skin care also plays a key role in helping you manage diabetes. The right skin care can prevent a serious skin condition, such as an infection, open sores, or non-healing wound.
Here are some skin care tips that dermatologists recommend for patients with diabetes.
• Moisturize every day. Keeping your skin moisturized helps to make it flexible and prevent cracks that often lead to infection.
• Treat dry, cracked heels. This can prevent a serious infection, non-healing sores, and other problems.
• Use a gentle cleanser when bathing. Deodorant soaps and strong body washes can irritate your already sensitive skin.
• Bathe and shower using warm (not hot) water. Hot water can strip your skin of moisture, leaving it feeling dry, tight, and uncomfortable.
• Dry the folds of your skin carefully. After bathing and swimming, you want to gently dry the skin between your toes, armpits, and other places where skin touches skin.
• Check your feet every day for discolored skin, swelling, scratches, blisters, sores, and cuts. If you have a minor wound, treat it. Get immediate medical care for all other wounds.
