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Foot Care
Foot Care Taking special steps to avoid foot problems such as sores, cuts, bunions, and calluses. Good care includes daily examination of the feet, toes, and toenails and choosing shoes and socks or stockings that fit well. People with diabetes have to take special care of their feet because nerve damage and reduced blood flow sometimes mean they will have less feeling in their feet than normal. They may not notice cuts and other problems as soon as they should.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Foot
The distal portion of the leg, upon which an individual stands and walks. It consists, in man, of the tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges and the tissues encompassing them.
Cuts
Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and dry is all that is required to care for most wounds. Putting alcohol hydrogen peroxide, and iodine into a wound can delay healing and should be avoided. Seek medical care early if you think that you might need stitches. Any delay can increase the rate of wound infection. Any puncture wound through tennis shoes has a high risk of infection and should be seen by your healthcare professional. Any redness, swelling, increased pain, or pus draining from the wound may indicate an infection that requires professional care.
Feet
The plural of foot, both an anatomic structure and a unit of measure. As an anatomic structure, the foot is the end of the leg on which a person normally stands and walks. The foot is a particularly complex structure made up of dozens of bones that work together with muscles and tendons to execute precise movements. The bones of the foot include the 10 metatarsal bones and the 28 phalanges (toe bones).
Diabetes
A condition in which blood glucose is not well controlled. Type I diabetics make no insulin, whereas type 2 diabetics are characterized by the overproduction of insulin, but the inability of the target cells to respond to the insulin.
Nerve
Tissue that conveys sensation, temperature, position information to the brain.
Blood
The life-maintaining fluid which is made up of plasma, red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets; blood circulates through the body's heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries; it carries away waste matter and carbon dioxide, and brings nourishment, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen to the tissues.
Mean
The sum of the values of all observations or data points divided by the number of observations, an arithmetical average.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Foot
The distal portion of the leg, upon which an individual stands and walks. It consists, in man, of the tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges and the tissues encompassing them.
Foot and Mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease is a severe, highly communicable viral disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hooved ruminants. The disease is characterized by fever and blister-like lesions followed by erosions on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves. Many affected animals recover, but the disease leaves them debilitated. It causes severe losses in the production of meat and milk. The disease is caused by a virus. There are at least seven separate types and many subtypes of the FMD virus.
Foot type
The category into which a particular foot falls. Foot types are generally classified into one of three categories: pronator, neutral, or supinator. The pronator type of foot rolls far inward during the weight-bearing phase of the stride. This foot type is characterized by a very low or flat arch. Heavier people often have feet in this category. The supinator type of foot restricts the impact of the stride largely to the outer edges of the foot. This is often due to a very high, rigid arch. The neutral type of foot is between the pronator and supinator types. It is the most common foot type. Runners with a neutral type of foot lands on the heel and rolls forward during the gait cycle until the impact is distributed evenly across the forefoot.
Foot, athlete
A skin infection caused by a fungus called Trichophyton which can thrive and infect the upper layer of the skin when the feet (or other areas of the body) remain moist, warm, and irritated. The fungus can be found on floors and in socks and clothing and can be spread from person to person by contact with these objects. However, without proper growing conditions (a warm, moist environment), the fungus will not infect the skin.
Foot-and-mouth disease
A disease caused by a highly infectious virus that can infect people but affects them most by infecting livestock -- cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. The foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is in the same family of viruses as those causing the common cold.
Foot-drop
Dropping of the front of the foot due to weakness or paralysis of the anterior muscles of the lower leg. Foot-drop results in what is called a steppage gait in which the advancing foot is lifted high in order that the toes may clear the ground. Foot drop can be due to a number of conditions including injury to the muscles that dorsiflex the foot or to the nerves to those muscles, a neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, a stroke, drug toxicity, and diabetes. Treatment may include an ankle-foot orthosis.
Foote Memorial Hospital
Foote Memorial Hospital is a hospital in Jackson, Michigan (USA).
Foothill Presbyterian Hospital
The Foothill Presbyterian Hospital is a hospital in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Foothills Medical Centre
The Foothills Medical Centre is a hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Footling presentation
There are single-footling or double-footling presentations depending upon whether the presenting part of the baby at delivery is just one foot or both feet.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Five Elements (Five Phases)
Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire as manifestations ("phases" or "transformations") of chi. The expression "five elements" derives from two Chinese words|wu ("five") and xing ("move" or "walk"). Its implicit meaning is "five processes." According to ancient Chinese cosmology, the Five Elements compose everything. In Chinese medicine, each of the Five Elements symbolizes a group of physiologic functions|"Earth" (soil) represents balance or neutrality; Metal (coal, fossils, and inorganic matter), decay; Water (moisture), a state of maximum rest leading to a change of functional direction; Wood (organic matter), a growth phase; and Fire (gases), maximum activity.
Folk medicine
Those medical (e.g., herbal) practices of persons not formally educated in medicine that are based on common sense, superstition, and/or tradition.
Fatty Acids
A basic unit of fats. When insulin levels are too low or there is not enough glucose (sugar) to use for energy, the body burns fatty acids for energy. The body then makes ketone bodies, waste products that cause the acid level in the blood to become too high. This in turn may lead to ketoacidosis, a serious problem.
First Phase Insulin Release
Release of insulin into the bloodstream from the beta cell within a few minutes after the blood glucose level rises. It is thought that this almost immediate release is due to release of insulin that was previously manufactured, and was being stored in the beta cell.
Fluorescein Angiography
A method of taking a picture of the flow of blood in the vessels of the eye by tracing the progress of an injected dye.
Foot Care
Fractional Urine
Urine that a person collects for a certain period of time during 24 hours; usually from breakfast to lunch, from lunch to supper, from supper to bedtime, and from bedtime to rising. Also called "block urine."
Fructosamine
A term referring to the linking of blood sugar onto protein molecules in the bloodstream. The fructosamine value depends upon the average blood sugar level during the past three weeks. The fructosamine test could be viewed as complementary to the glycohemoglobin, as the two tests are different reflections of diabetes control: glycohemoglobin looks back approximately eight to twelve weeks, and the fructosamine test looks back about three weeks. |Note: the term fructosamine has nothing to do with the term fructose.
Fundus of the Eye
The back or deep part of the eye, including the retina.
Funduscopy
A test to look at the back area of the eye to see if there is any damage to the vessels that bring blood to the retina. The doctor uses a device called an ophthalmoscope to check the eye.
FIXED BRIDGE
A fixed bridge replaces or spans the space where one or more teeth have been lost. A fixed bridge is attached to natural teeth (abutments). It is cemented into place and can only be removed by a dentist. The abutment teeth are crowned to provide strength. The ponic, or artificial tooth, is the part of the fixed bridge that replaces the missing tooth or space between the abutments. The ponic is fused to the abutments to form one piece that is cemented or bonded into place in the mouth. These restorations prevent collapse of the mouth and movement of teeth. Fixed bridges have special instructions for proper home care, which will be explained by the dentist or dental assistant upon completion of treatment. See also "Maryland Bridge."
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