Going barefoot

[Redkite]

Does anyone know if it is risky for a young person with type 1 to go barefoot? My son was annoyed at being obliged to put his trainers on when his taekwondo instructor took the class out barefoot from the sports hall to the playground. We'd always been advised that he should keep his feet covered outdoors, which is obviously a good habit to get into. However his feet are healthy, no neuropathy or other problems, so is there actually any risk for him over and above the same risk of injury that the other kids had?

 

[Caroline]

Personally I am always wary of anywhere that is not thoroughly cleaned before I go barefoot.

if your son has all the feeling in his feet he is probably OK. How old is he? Is it possible to do a risk assesmnet before he goes barefoot?

I can understand where he is comming from being obliged to wear shoes wen everyone else is barefoot.

 

[LeeLee]

It would have been better if the group leader had made everyone wear shoes, without giving the reason. If your son doesn't have neuropathy, the risk of an injury going unnoticed is negligible, BUT bare feet do get sometimes injured no matter how much care is taken, and healing could be a problem if that were to happen.

 

[AJLang]

As far as I can recall the recommendations have always been that a diabetic should never go bare foot because of the risk of infection - I had a podiatrist friend who went mad when he saw me walking round the garden with no shoes on - but despite the advice I rarely wear anything on my feet, although that served me right when I ended up in A&E with a piece of broken glass in my foot one day. But on a serious note even without neuropathy I think that if you get a cut in your foot and don't notice the risk of danger and subsequent problems is very high in diabetics so wearing appropriate footwear is probably the most sensible thing to do.

 

[DeusXM]

My personal feeling is the issue of being barefoot is as over-worried about as the issue of what temperature you need to keep your 'in use' insulin.

As I understand it, the reason people with diabetes are told they should never go barefoot and treat their feet as if they're a newborn baby is because there is a danger of sustaining an injury without noticing it and that any injury will take a long time to heal - both situations leading to infection and an extremity being lopped off.

However, you'll notice that this scenario also makes the assumption that if you have diabetes, you have neuropathy and out of control blood sugars.

If you don't have either of these issues, then the logical risk isn't really any greater than that for anyone else. I spend pretty much my whole time at home barefoot and will also go barefoot on the beach or whatever without a second thought. I probably wouldn't walk for long periods of time on the street barefoot although I'll also happily wear flipflops.

To ensure piece of mind, obviously check your feet after walking barefoot in case you might have stood on something and not realised it, but generally I don't feel there is a lot to worry about if your son is well controlled and doesn't suffer from neuropathy. He just needs to check after the event to be doubly safe, that's all.

 

[bev]

Hi Redkite,

Alex used to do Taekwando barefoot but that was indoors. I think for this situation I would have let Alex do as others as it was only a one-off by the sounds of it. I didnt really worry about feet much until we went to a talk about feet. I cant remember who it was who gave it as have been to so many now. Anyway - the story went that an old chap (Type 1) went to the hospital because of a hip complaint and they couldnt find anything wrong at all - until someone looked at his foot and it had a large lump - after having it x-rayed they found he had a whole plug stuck under the skin which had grown over it and he didnt notice because his control wasnt good and not a lot of feeling in his feet.😱

I personally feel as long as you check your feet often and have fairly good control then the risks are not as high as someone who has not-so-good control and a lot of the scare stories I feel are because in the olden days there just wasnt the technology and care that people get now which obviously would have impacted on complications. I wouldnt want Alex walking on stones but wouldnt want my other two to do that either!🙂Bev

 

[rossi_mac]

I go barefoot as much as possible! I realise there are health risks/concerns, but I choose not to worry, I check my feet regularly, and probably don't fully realise the risks but just saying what I do! Good way of toughening your feet up walking on the loose stones in the front garden!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

However, you'll notice that this scenario also makes the assumption that if you have diabetes, you have neuropathy and out of control blood sugars.

If you don't have either of these issues, then the logical risk isn't really any greater than that for anyone else. I spend pretty much my whole time at home barefoot and will also go barefoot on the beach or whatever without a second thought. I probably wouldn't walk for long periods of time on the street barefoot although I'll also happily wear flipflops.

To ensure piece of mind, obviously check your feet after walking barefoot in case you might have stood on something and not realised it, but generally I don't feel there is a lot to worry about if your son is well controlled and doesn't suffer from neuropathy. He just needs to check after the event to be doubly safe, that's all.

Absolutely agree with that.

I personally feel as long as you check your feet often and have fairly good control then the risks are not as high as someone who has not-so-good control and a lot of the scare stories I feel are because in the olden days there just wasnt the technology and care that people get now which obviously would have impacted on complications.

Yup. I think that's it exactly.

I go barefoot as much as possible! I realise there are health risks/concerns, but I choose not to worry, I check my feet regularly, and probably don't fully realise the risks but just saying what I do! Good way of toughening your feet up walking on the loose stones in the front garden!

Actually that is quite a good reason for being a little careful with barefoot walking - 'toughening up' would effectively involve losing sensation, which probably isn't something we should be encouraging in our feet!

I'm happy to have broken out the flip flops again though this summer, and while my control/sentation remains OK I'll continue to treat my feet like a normal person, but just make sure I keep a eye on them if I've gone barefoot. 🙂

 

[Copepod]

I also work on the principle that as I have good blood glucose control and no neuropathy, I can go barefoot when it suits me. At times, keeping shoes and socks on puts me more at risk of fungal infections, especially if wet after running through streams etc, so that going barefoot, letting feet dry out, is better overall strategy. Of course, I do make an effort to look where I'm putting my feet, even more so when barefooted, to avoid sharp objects. Never had a problem, and on few occasions I get red skin / blisters from shoes, I take action to dress as soon as possible, halting problem getting worse.

 

[DeusXM]

Exactly - wearing shoes all the time puts you at major risk for athlete's foot. Plus, if you have diminished sensation in your feet, what if there's sharp little pebble that's got into your shoe? Instead of stabbing you once, it'll constantly grind at your foot until you finally take off your footwear.

 

[Redkite]

Thanks for all the replies. Maybe I can let him be a bit more relaxed about it then 🙂

 

[itsallgood]

I have the opposite problem. My feet are incredibly sensitive and even walking on green grass is unbearably ticklish. I can detect the tiniest bit of clag in my shoes and never walk around the house barefoot, which is mostly clean polished floorboards.

I have to wear socks at night as if my feet get cold the nerve signals seem to turn into excruciating stabbing pains. No exaggeration, even the water falling on them in the shower is painful.

They look physically fine and healthy and the nails are carefully trimmed - I just wish they were a bit tougher and able to bear going outside without protection. I do wear sandals in the summer but draw the line at wearing socks underneath them. That's just unacceptable.