If you have diabetes, you should check your feet once every day. A daily visual inspection of the entire surface of both feet, including the soles and between the toes, is the standard recommendation. This takes only a few minutes but catches small problems before they become serious ones, which matters because diabetes can quietly reduce sensation in your feet to the point where you won’t feel a cut, blister, or sore forming.
Why Daily Checks Matter
High blood sugar damages nerves over time, particularly in the feet. The process works like this: excess glucose triggers chemical changes inside nerve cells that cause sugar byproducts to accumulate, creating pressure that disrupts how nerves conduct signals. The result is a gradual loss of protective sensation. You might not feel a pebble in your shoe, a blister from a tight spot, or a small puncture wound.
Without that built-in alarm system, minor injuries go unnoticed. An untreated blister can break down into an open wound. Poor circulation, another common consequence of diabetes, slows healing and increases the risk of infection. A foot ulcer that could have been prevented with a simple daily glance can instead become a medical emergency. That’s the gap daily foot checks are designed to close.
What to Look for Each Day
Your daily check doesn’t need to be complicated, but it should be thorough. Look at the tops, bottoms, sides, and heels of both feet, plus the spaces between every toe. You’re scanning for:
- Cuts, blisters, or sores you didn’t feel happening
- Redness, swelling, or warmth in one foot compared to the other
- Dry or cracked skin, especially on the heels, which can split into deeper fissures
- Color changes, such as darkened or pale patches
- Thick, yellow, or ingrown toenails
- Fungal infections between the toes (peeling, itching, or white patches)
- Loss of hair on the toes, feet, or lower legs, which can signal reduced blood flow
Also check the inside of your shoes before putting them on. A small stone, bunched sock, or rough seam can cause damage you won’t feel. Make the foot check part of an existing routine, like right after a shower or before bed, so it becomes automatic.
Checking Your Soles With Limited Mobility
The bottom of the foot is where many ulcers start, but it’s the hardest area to see, especially if bending or lifting your leg is difficult. A long-handled angled mirror designed for self-inspection solves this problem. You place it on the floor and position your foot over it, letting you see the entire sole without bending down. Telescoping versions are available that extend to a comfortable length.
If you don’t have a mirror, a smartphone camera can work in a pinch. Hold it under your foot and snap a photo, then zoom in to look for anything unusual. You can also ask a family member or caregiver to help with the inspection.
How Often You Need Professional Foot Exams
Daily self-checks are your responsibility at home, but professional foot exams follow a separate schedule based on your risk level. During these visits, a clinician tests sensation in your feet using a thin nylon filament pressed against several points on the sole. A simplified version of this test checks four sites per foot and catches about 90% of the sensation loss that a more comprehensive exam would find. You’ll be asked to say when you feel the touch. If you can’t detect it at certain spots, that’s a sign of nerve damage.
For people with diabetes but no nerve damage, deformities, or circulation problems, a professional foot exam once a year is typical. The schedule gets more frequent as risk factors stack up:
- Nerve damage plus a foot deformity or poor circulation: every 3 months
- Previous foot ulcer or amputation: every 1 to 3 months
- Two or more risk factors present: every 1 to 3 months
These visits also reinforce what to watch for at home and let your provider catch changes you might miss, like subtle shifts in foot shape or early callus buildup in pressure areas.
Daily Foot Care Beyond Inspection
Checking your feet is one piece of a broader daily routine. Diabetes-related nerve damage also affects the nerves that control sweating, which means your feet may become unusually dry. Dry skin cracks, and cracks become entry points for infection.
Washing your feet daily with lukewarm water and drying them thoroughly, especially between the toes where moisture gets trapped, helps prevent both fungal infections and skin breakdown. After drying, applying a moisturizer keeps the skin supple. Research points to creams containing urea (around 5% concentration for moisturizing) or a combination of 15% glycerol with soft paraffin as particularly effective. Applying moisturizer twice a day for at least two weeks shows measurable improvement in dry skin. One important detail: don’t apply moisturizer between the toes, since excess moisture there encourages fungal growth.
Other daily habits that protect your feet include never walking barefoot or in thin-soled slippers, avoiding tight socks that restrict circulation, and cutting toenails straight across rather than rounding the corners to prevent ingrown nails. Skip chemical corn or callus removers, which can burn skin you can’t fully feel.
Signs That Need Immediate Attention
Most daily checks will turn up nothing unusual, but certain findings during your inspection warrant prompt action. Tingling, burning, or pain in the feet can signal worsening nerve involvement. A sore or blister that isn’t healing after a couple of days, or any open wound with redness spreading around it, needs professional evaluation quickly.
One condition to know about is Charcot foot, a serious complication where weakened bones in the foot fracture and the joints begin to collapse, often without much pain. The earliest sign is a foot that’s noticeably more swollen, warm, and red than the other one, with a temperature difference you can feel by touching both feet. This is frequently misdiagnosed as an infection or gout. If one foot suddenly looks puffy and feels hot compared to the other, that’s worth same-day medical attention, because early treatment can prevent permanent deformity.