Experts have described diabetic foot as the second leading cause of diabetes-related deaths in Nigeria; saying it accounts for about 24 per cent of all diabetes mortality.

 

Speaking at the second Lagos Podiatry Workshop recently, Medical Director of Rainbow Specialist Hospital and Coordinator, Podiatry Initiative Nigeria, Dr. Afoke Isiavwe, lamented that the situation was worsened by the fact that the nation’s medical schools had no structured curriculum for podiatry, contributing to the low awareness about foot care among diabetics.

 

She said, “Diabetes Podiatry Initiative is an annual training in podiatry, and it is meant to raise awareness on the need for foot care among diabetes patients.

 

“It is also geared towards empowering health workers to know how to take care of the feet of their patients, pending when we have a structured programme in our medical schools.”

 

At this year’s podiatry training, different cadres of health care workers from 11 hospitals in Lagos underwent training.

 

 

 

American podiatrist and facilitator, Dr. Jamed Kinchsular, delivered a lecture on the basic problems that could lead to foot disease.

 

They include toe nail problems and deformities and how to take care of them to prevent infections that could lead to amputation.

 

He said the emphasis on diabetes was because the disease is becoming an epidemic globally and that many people are losing their feet due to preventable diabetic foot problems.

 

Another facilitator, Dr. William Haris, delivered a lecture on how to evaluate the nails and toe tissues for hard skin and calluses that could result in ulcer or cancer, and how to prevent foot infections.

 

The Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olufemi Fasanmade, said Nigeria loses too many diabetics to foot diseases and leg infections, which spread rapidly and affect the entire leg.

 

BY: SOLAADE AYO-ADERELE

THE PUNCH