Answer: A bunion is a bony prominence, along the inside of the foot, at the base of the big toes. This “bump” represents a misalignment of the big toe joint. Bunions commonly occur on both feet, but on foot may be more severe than the other. They tend to be hereditary but can occur without a family history. They are not caused by poor shoe gear, but are often aggravated by the shoe. This deformity is cause by abnormal foot function. A foot that rolls in excessively (pronates excessively) allows abnormal stress to go through the big toe joint to cause the deformity. This is a progressive deformity. The deformity never gets better, only worse.
Conservative care consists of decreasing the pressure on the bony prominence by a wider or softer shoe or padding around the deformity. Sometimes good arch support of an orthotic will improve foot function enough to decrease the irritation of the deformity and slow down its progression. If conservative care is not successful, then surgical straightening is the treatment choice. Surgical treatment revolves around realigning the structural deformity. The bony prominence is removed and the joint is realigned. The type of procedure and the length of recovery are determined by the severity of the deformity.
In order for your surgeon to establish a diagnosis and determine the severity of the deformity, a health history, physical examination, and x-rays are necessary to evaluate the extent of your bunion deformity. Depending on your individual needs as well as your overall medical, condition, your surgeon will recommend the best treatment regiment for you.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Nail Deformity Can Best Be Treated With Correct Diagnosis
Many patients are concerned because they have thick yellow toenails that are deformed and difficult to cut. Nail deformity has many causes including: trauma, psoriasis, fungal infection, thyroid disease, and lung disease. Correct diagnosis of the toenail deformity is essential for proper treatment.
Patients often ask about taking Lamisil Tablets for their nail deformity. Lamisil, and other oral anti-fungals, can be an excellent treatment for deformed toenails due to fungal infection; however, oral anti-fungals are not effective for other causes of nail disease. There are several topical products now available to reduce nail deformity that is not caused by fungus.
A thorough history & physical along with a nail biopsy is the best way to diagnose the reason for the nail deformity.
If the deformity is caused by fungal infection, oral anti-fungal agents, like Lamisil, may be a good choice. When prescribing oral anti-fungals it is important to monitor the patient’s liver functions, much the same way as patients who are on diabetes and/or cholesterol medications. If the patient’s liver functions are normal, oral anti-fungal agents are very safe medications. For patients who cannot take oral anti-fungals, topical treatments are available.
If you have thick yellow nails, call CKPA for an evaluation & treatment options.
Patients often ask about taking Lamisil Tablets for their nail deformity. Lamisil, and other oral anti-fungals, can be an excellent treatment for deformed toenails due to fungal infection; however, oral anti-fungals are not effective for other causes of nail disease. There are several topical products now available to reduce nail deformity that is not caused by fungus.
A thorough history & physical along with a nail biopsy is the best way to diagnose the reason for the nail deformity.
If the deformity is caused by fungal infection, oral anti-fungal agents, like Lamisil, may be a good choice. When prescribing oral anti-fungals it is important to monitor the patient’s liver functions, much the same way as patients who are on diabetes and/or cholesterol medications. If the patient’s liver functions are normal, oral anti-fungal agents are very safe medications. For patients who cannot take oral anti-fungals, topical treatments are available.
If you have thick yellow nails, call CKPA for an evaluation & treatment options.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Lax Care of Foot Puncture Wounds Hikes Risk for Serious Infections
Bare feet are universally associated with summer, but for those who enjoy walking barefoot, a local foot and ankle surgeon warns that inattention to seemingly minor puncture wounds on the soles of your feet can allow serious infections to develop and spread.
Going barefoot heightens risk for puncture wounds, which require different treatment from cuts because the tiny holes often harbor foreign matter under the skin. Glass, nails, needles and seashells are common offenders. Regardless of the substance, anything that remains in the wound increases your chances for complications.
Puncture wounds in the feet too often are superficially treated, and it is best to get proper care within the first 24 hours to make sure anything that might be embedded in the wound is removed. Research shows 10 percent of puncture wounds do result in serious infection, but such complications can be prevented with prompt and appropriate medical attention.
The depth and relative cleanliness of a puncture wound are the main factors determining possible infection risk. Studies show 60 percent of patients who required incision and drainage of a puncture wound had something embedded. With the increasing prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria, even healthy people are getting potentially life-threatening Staph infections. So if you step on something and the skin is broken, get treated right away.
Proper treatment of a puncture wound involves thorough cleaning to decrease infection risk and tetanus shots often are needed. Following treatment, the wound should be monitored carefully at home.
Sometimes an infection can develop later and migrate to the bones. So if the wound stays red, swollen and sore after a few days, go back to the doctor for further treatment. In all cases, a puncture wound on your foot should never be taken lightly.
Going barefoot heightens risk for puncture wounds, which require different treatment from cuts because the tiny holes often harbor foreign matter under the skin. Glass, nails, needles and seashells are common offenders. Regardless of the substance, anything that remains in the wound increases your chances for complications.
Puncture wounds in the feet too often are superficially treated, and it is best to get proper care within the first 24 hours to make sure anything that might be embedded in the wound is removed. Research shows 10 percent of puncture wounds do result in serious infection, but such complications can be prevented with prompt and appropriate medical attention.
The depth and relative cleanliness of a puncture wound are the main factors determining possible infection risk. Studies show 60 percent of patients who required incision and drainage of a puncture wound had something embedded. With the increasing prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria, even healthy people are getting potentially life-threatening Staph infections. So if you step on something and the skin is broken, get treated right away.
Proper treatment of a puncture wound involves thorough cleaning to decrease infection risk and tetanus shots often are needed. Following treatment, the wound should be monitored carefully at home.
Sometimes an infection can develop later and migrate to the bones. So if the wound stays red, swollen and sore after a few days, go back to the doctor for further treatment. In all cases, a puncture wound on your foot should never be taken lightly.
Lawnmower Accidents Needn’t Be a Rite of Summer
Summertime is here and weekend gardeners are cautioned that their yards could become "toe-away" zones if they’re not careful when operating rotary-blade lawn mowers.
Each year, some 25,000 Americans sustain injuries from power mowers, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. Although the number of accidents has steadily declined since the 1982 adoption of federal safety standards, too many foot injuries from power lawnmowers are still seen. The blades whirl at 3000 revolutions per minute and produce three times the kinetic energy of a .357 handgun. Yet patients are still seen who have been hurt while operating a mower barefoot! Foot injuries range from dirty, infection-prone lacerations to severed tendons to amputated toes.
If a mower accident occurs – with just a minor injury – immediate treatment is necessary to flush the wound thoroughly and apply antibiotics to prevent infection. Superficial wounds can be treated on an outpatient basis, but more serious injuries usually require surgical intervention to repair tendon damage, deep clean the wound and suture it. Tendons severed in lawnmower accidents generally can be re-attached surgically unless toes have been amputated.
Children under the age of 14 and adults over age 44 are more likely to be injured from mowers than others. Anyone who operates a power mower to take a few simple precautions:
• Don’t mow a wet lawn. Losing control from slipping on rain-soaked grass is the leading cause of foot injuries caused by power mowers.
• Wear heavy shoes or work boots when mowing – no sneakers or sandals.
• Mow slowly across slopes, never go up and down.
• Never pull a running mower backward.
• Keep the clip bag attached when operating a power mower to prevent projectile injuries.
• Use a mower with a release mechanism on the handle that automatically shuts it off when the hands let go.
• Always keep children away from the lawn when mowing it.
Each year, some 25,000 Americans sustain injuries from power mowers, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. Although the number of accidents has steadily declined since the 1982 adoption of federal safety standards, too many foot injuries from power lawnmowers are still seen. The blades whirl at 3000 revolutions per minute and produce three times the kinetic energy of a .357 handgun. Yet patients are still seen who have been hurt while operating a mower barefoot! Foot injuries range from dirty, infection-prone lacerations to severed tendons to amputated toes.
If a mower accident occurs – with just a minor injury – immediate treatment is necessary to flush the wound thoroughly and apply antibiotics to prevent infection. Superficial wounds can be treated on an outpatient basis, but more serious injuries usually require surgical intervention to repair tendon damage, deep clean the wound and suture it. Tendons severed in lawnmower accidents generally can be re-attached surgically unless toes have been amputated.
Children under the age of 14 and adults over age 44 are more likely to be injured from mowers than others. Anyone who operates a power mower to take a few simple precautions:
• Don’t mow a wet lawn. Losing control from slipping on rain-soaked grass is the leading cause of foot injuries caused by power mowers.
• Wear heavy shoes or work boots when mowing – no sneakers or sandals.
• Mow slowly across slopes, never go up and down.
• Never pull a running mower backward.
• Keep the clip bag attached when operating a power mower to prevent projectile injuries.
• Use a mower with a release mechanism on the handle that automatically shuts it off when the hands let go.
• Always keep children away from the lawn when mowing it.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
High Heeled Summer Shoes and Boots Are Dangerous Year Round
Year round women wear fashionable high-heeled shoes. These 3-6 inch heels put women at risk for slips, falls, and injuries. These high heels are popular shoes they typically feature tall, spiked heels and narrow, pointed toes. Wearing high-heels makes you more unstable when walking or standing on dry surfaces. A stylish low-heeled summer shoe is a lot more fashionable than a cast and crutches. It is recommended that women scuff-up the soles of any new shoes or boots, or purchase adhesive rubber soles, to provide greater traction.
Falls from high-heeled shoes can lead to a number of injuries, depending on how the woman loses her balance. If her ankle rolls inward or outward, she can break her ankle. If her ankle twists, ligaments can be stretched or torn, causing ankle sprain.
Women injured from slips and falls in high-heeled shoes or boots should contact Central Kansas Podiatry Associates for prompt evaluation and treatment. In the meantime, immediately use the “R.I.C.E.” method – rest, ice, compression and elevation – to help reduce swelling, pain and further injury.
Delaying treatment can result in long-term complications such as chronic ankle instability and pain, arthritis, or deformity. Even if one is able to walk on the injured foot, pain, swelling, or bruising indicates a serious injury.
Falls from high-heeled shoes can lead to a number of injuries, depending on how the woman loses her balance. If her ankle rolls inward or outward, she can break her ankle. If her ankle twists, ligaments can be stretched or torn, causing ankle sprain.
Women injured from slips and falls in high-heeled shoes or boots should contact Central Kansas Podiatry Associates for prompt evaluation and treatment. In the meantime, immediately use the “R.I.C.E.” method – rest, ice, compression and elevation – to help reduce swelling, pain and further injury.
Delaying treatment can result in long-term complications such as chronic ankle instability and pain, arthritis, or deformity. Even if one is able to walk on the injured foot, pain, swelling, or bruising indicates a serious injury.
Diabetic Foot Care Important
Why is Diabetic Foot Care Important?
Many people know somebody who is diabetic who has had a toe, or even a foot or leg amputated. This is the worst-case assumption and points at the critical importance of foot care for a diabetic. Foot care is a specially important part of care for people with diabetes. But proper diabetic foot care and attention can keep most serious foot diseases.
Daily Foot Care Guide for Diabetic
1. Clean your feet every day using mild soap and warm water. Assure the water temperature with your hand or elbow before putting your feet in the water.
2. Dry your feet well. Make sure to dry between toes.
3. Look at your feet. Check for any breaks, dry skin, cuts, redness, swelling, and change in temperature.
4. Apply lotion to dry or cracked skin and to soles of feet. Do not put lotion between toes.
5. Call Central Kansas Podiatry Associates right away if you have any sign of infection such as swelling, redness, drainage, fever, or chills.
Many people know somebody who is diabetic who has had a toe, or even a foot or leg amputated. This is the worst-case assumption and points at the critical importance of foot care for a diabetic. Foot care is a specially important part of care for people with diabetes. But proper diabetic foot care and attention can keep most serious foot diseases.
Daily Foot Care Guide for Diabetic
1. Clean your feet every day using mild soap and warm water. Assure the water temperature with your hand or elbow before putting your feet in the water.
2. Dry your feet well. Make sure to dry between toes.
3. Look at your feet. Check for any breaks, dry skin, cuts, redness, swelling, and change in temperature.
4. Apply lotion to dry or cracked skin and to soles of feet. Do not put lotion between toes.
5. Call Central Kansas Podiatry Associates right away if you have any sign of infection such as swelling, redness, drainage, fever, or chills.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
You Can Help Children Avoid Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is affecting kids in a big way, but diet and exercise can help children avoid or reverse this condition.
Once upon a time, type 2 diabetes was called “adult-onset diabetes.” If children had diabetes, 99 times out of 100 it was type 1 diabetes; type 2 diabetes didn’t appear until midlife. Now, studies suggest that up to 45 percent of childhood diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes: Why the Increase?
“No one is certain why, but most experts believe that it is related in part to the obesity epidemic,” explains Frank Diamond, MD, clinical director for the University of South Florida Diabetes Center and professor of pediatrics at the University of South Florida in Tampa. “We now have approximately 17 percent of the pediatric population that is overweight. Genetically at-risk children may be acquiring the disease earlier because of the increased insulin resistance associated with their early obesity. We are seeing many children with adult weights in our pediatric clinics today.”
Dr. Diamond also notes that the increase may be due to a rise in the proportion of children with ethnic minority heritage that puts them at increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
Basically, says Paul Robertson, MD, president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, and professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Washington in Seattle, the causes of childhood type 2 diabetes boil down to genetic risk mixed with physical inactivity and poor eating habits.
“We know if the diets are corrected and they lose the weight, the diabetes becomes undetectable,” says Dr. Robertson.
There's more content below this advertisement. Jump to the content.
Type 2 Diabetes: What Parents Can Do
The first step to preventing type 2 diabetes in childhood is to face the fact that it can happen to children, says Diamond. Then be on guard for symptoms and ask for diabetes screening.
“Symptoms include tiring easily, thirst, and increased urination. A darkening of the skin (acanthosis nigricans) on the back of the neck, under the arms, and in the groin area is associated with obesity and [is] a common finding with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes children,” he says.
Also, bear in mind that if you had gestational diabetes during your pregnancy, your children are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
“Especially in families with a positive family history of type 2 diabetes, avoidance of excessive weight gain and encouragement of an active lifestyle are extremely important and the best tools to avoid the development of type 2 diabetes,” says Diamond. Some children may be candidates for a drug called metformin.
Type 2 Diabetes: Testing
Parents who are concerned that their child might have diabetes should ask for a fasting glucose screening test. That test determines how much sugar is in the blood before a person has eaten.
“A value over 99 mg/dL is abnormal and suggests ‘impending’ diabetes or glucose intolerance. A value equal to or greater than 126 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes,” says Diamond.
Any results above the normal range should be red flags for you and your family to:
* Eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and veggies. You can get help changing your family’s diet from a dietitian, if necessary.
* Get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
* Help your child lose at least 5 percent of his body weight if he is overweight.
Remember, childhood type 2 diabetes is within your family’s control.
“Lose weight, be active, eat the right foods,” says Robertson. “Lifestyle modifications can do a great deal in terms of staving off type 2 diabetes.”
Last Updated: 04/16/2009
This section created and produced exclusively by the editorial staff of EverydayHealth.com. © 2010 EverydayHealth.com; all rights reserved.
Once upon a time, type 2 diabetes was called “adult-onset diabetes.” If children had diabetes, 99 times out of 100 it was type 1 diabetes; type 2 diabetes didn’t appear until midlife. Now, studies suggest that up to 45 percent of childhood diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes: Why the Increase?
“No one is certain why, but most experts believe that it is related in part to the obesity epidemic,” explains Frank Diamond, MD, clinical director for the University of South Florida Diabetes Center and professor of pediatrics at the University of South Florida in Tampa. “We now have approximately 17 percent of the pediatric population that is overweight. Genetically at-risk children may be acquiring the disease earlier because of the increased insulin resistance associated with their early obesity. We are seeing many children with adult weights in our pediatric clinics today.”
Dr. Diamond also notes that the increase may be due to a rise in the proportion of children with ethnic minority heritage that puts them at increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
Basically, says Paul Robertson, MD, president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, and professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Washington in Seattle, the causes of childhood type 2 diabetes boil down to genetic risk mixed with physical inactivity and poor eating habits.
“We know if the diets are corrected and they lose the weight, the diabetes becomes undetectable,” says Dr. Robertson.
There's more content below this advertisement. Jump to the content.
Type 2 Diabetes: What Parents Can Do
The first step to preventing type 2 diabetes in childhood is to face the fact that it can happen to children, says Diamond. Then be on guard for symptoms and ask for diabetes screening.
“Symptoms include tiring easily, thirst, and increased urination. A darkening of the skin (acanthosis nigricans) on the back of the neck, under the arms, and in the groin area is associated with obesity and [is] a common finding with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes children,” he says.
Also, bear in mind that if you had gestational diabetes during your pregnancy, your children are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
“Especially in families with a positive family history of type 2 diabetes, avoidance of excessive weight gain and encouragement of an active lifestyle are extremely important and the best tools to avoid the development of type 2 diabetes,” says Diamond. Some children may be candidates for a drug called metformin.
Type 2 Diabetes: Testing
Parents who are concerned that their child might have diabetes should ask for a fasting glucose screening test. That test determines how much sugar is in the blood before a person has eaten.
“A value over 99 mg/dL is abnormal and suggests ‘impending’ diabetes or glucose intolerance. A value equal to or greater than 126 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes,” says Diamond.
Any results above the normal range should be red flags for you and your family to:
* Eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and veggies. You can get help changing your family’s diet from a dietitian, if necessary.
* Get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
* Help your child lose at least 5 percent of his body weight if he is overweight.
Remember, childhood type 2 diabetes is within your family’s control.
“Lose weight, be active, eat the right foods,” says Robertson. “Lifestyle modifications can do a great deal in terms of staving off type 2 diabetes.”
Last Updated: 04/16/2009
This section created and produced exclusively by the editorial staff of EverydayHealth.com. © 2010 EverydayHealth.com; all rights reserved.
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