Diabetic Foot - Diagnosis

Signs and Symptoms - updated: 15 March 2008

What are the signs and symptoms of diabetic foot?

• Lack of feeling in the foot
• Dull or sharp pain in the foot
• Swelling of the foot or leg
• Redness can be a sign of infection, especially when surrounding a wound, or a place where the foot has been rubbed by shoes or socks
• Loss of hair on the lower leg, often with the skin becoming hard and shiny
• Warmth in specific parts of the foot can be a sign of infection
• Fever or chills associate with a foot wound that is not healing

Risk Factors for Lower Extremity Amputation in the Diabetic Foot

• Absence of protective sensation due to peripheral neuropathy
• Arterial insufficiency
• Foot deformity and callus formation resulting in focal areas of high pressure
• Autonomic neuropathy causing decreased sweating and dry, fissured skin
• Limited joint mobility
• Obesity
• Impaired vision
• Poor glucose control leading to impaired wound healing
• Poor footwear that causes skin breakdown or inadequately protects the skin from high pressure and shear forces
• History of foot ulcer or lower extremity amputation

Publication Types:

• Review

Publication Types:

• Review