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A podologist is a doctor who diagnoses, treats and prevents diseases of the feet and toenails, is a pedicure master.
If the patient has other diseases, then for a long time he sends him to another specialist.
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Podiatrist: what does he treat?
A specialist in the treatment of feet pays attention not only to the area of the foot, but also to diseases that may affect its condition. An important step in the work of a podologist is the identification of early pathological changes in the feet and their timely treatment. Such problems can often be eliminated even at home or in salon conditions, having the most gentle effect. If you seek qualified help in time, you will be able to avoid surgical intervention, which is often the only measure that can help with advanced diseases.
The podiatrist often gives the patient important information about the state of his health and recommends that he contact other, narrower specialists, such as an orthopedist, phlebologist, endocrinologist, if necessary. As for the pedicure performed by a podiatrist, this procedure should not be confused with a traditional salon service. The doctor performs it from a medical point of view. It helps the patient get rid of corns and calluses, cracked heels, ingrown nails and rough skin. In addition, the doctor performs prosthetics and plastic surgery of the nail plates, eliminates their deformations and the consequences of injuries.
With what problems to go to the podiatrist?
If there are any disorders in the functioning of the joints, muscles, tendons, ligamentous apparatus, blood vessels of the lower extremities, then a person needs to contact a podiatrist.
Observations from the doctor require the following diseases:
calluses;
warts;
Congenital anomalies in the development of the nail plates, their deformation;
thickening of the dermis;
Rotation of the nail;
fungal infection;
Exacerbation of diabetes mellitus and the formation of a diabetic foot;
Pain in the feet;
Arthrosis of the joints of the lower extremities;
Spurs on the heel;
hollow feet;
Morton’s neuroma;
tunnel syndrome;
Epiphysis affecting the calcaneus;
plantar fasciitis;
Deformed fingers.
What does a podiatrist do?
The main job of a podiatrist is to take care of the feet and maintain their health. It is this specialist that allows you to cope with diseases of the lower extremities, contributes to the prevention of pathologies.
Performing a medical pedicure, eliminating cracks in the heels, removing corns and calluses, treating hyperhidrosis – all this is within the competence of a podiatrist, and not a beautician of a beauty salon. The doctor has knowledge regarding the implementation of techniques aimed at prosthetics of the nail plates. In addition, only a podiatrist will be able to give professional advice on the proper care of the lower extremities.
The most important activity of a podologist is the elimination of complications of diabetes mellitus, which often manifest themselves in the foot area. Such patients lose the sensitivity of the foot, the skin on the legs begins to coarsen, deep cracks form between the toes and on the heels (Read also: Causes and treatment of cracked heels). The most serious complication of this pathology is gangrene of the foot. Therefore, all patients with diabetes are given a mandatory recommendation in the form of regular visits to the podiatrist.
It often happens that people suffer from foot diseases throughout their lives, considering the existing discomfort as a variant of the norm. Sometimes such patients turn to beauty salons for help, where they are often offered to eliminate the existing deficiency in a radical way, for example, using a laser. However, simply removing an existing deficiency does not mean getting rid of it forever, often the disease is prone to relapse, since the causes of its occurrence have not been determined. That is what a podiatrist does. So, for example, the uneven load on the feet may be to blame for the occurrence of corns, which requires orthopedic treatment. This is what the podologist reveals and sends the patient for a consultation with an orthopedist. Otherwise, it will not be possible to completely get rid of corns. (Read also: Cause and prevention of corns)
If the patient’s defects are not too pronounced, then the doctor is able to eliminate them right in his office. For example, when a person suffers from an incorrect position of the fingers, the doctor can make a corrector according to the individual dimensions of the patient – an orthosis. When the problems are more global in nature, then an orthopedic consultation is necessary. The same applies to the treatment of mycotic lesions, when a series of tests must be performed before starting treatment. Treatment will be prescribed by a podiatrist after receiving the results. In addition, you can also consult a doctor for a preventive purpose, for example, for cleaning or treating feet using specialized preparations, for correcting nail rotation, etc.