Podologist

Who is a podiatrist and what does their job involve? A podiatrist (from "podo" - foot) is a doctor who deals with therapeutic foot care, diagnostics (assessment of the skin and nails), treatment, care and rehabilitation of the feet.

Who is a podiatrist?

The professional scope of work of a podiatrist includes medical manicure services – work with problem feet.

Podology is a science related to dermatology and surgery. This branch of medicine appeared relatively recently, but is rapidly gaining popularity. Such problems as calluses, cracks, nail deformation, fungal infection of nails and foot skin are very common and require special treatment and approach.

A podiatrist most often has one specialization - treatment of diabetic foot, treatment of ingrown nails, post-traumatic massage. A podiatrist will not replace a general practitioner and does not undertake the diagnosis of establishing an accurate diagnosis, but based on the condition of the foot, he or she can determine to which specialist in which area the patient should be referred. For accurate confirmation of some diagnoses, laboratory test results are required, and only after that a comprehensive treatment plan is drawn up, if necessary, with specialists in the identified pathology.

What does a podiatrist do?

What does a podiatrist do and what area does he/she specialize in? The first is foot care. If there are signs of any disease during the initial examination, the podiatrist determines the cause and makes an effective treatment plan taking into account all the features and consulting with doctors of related specialties. One of the aspects is the provision of medical pedicure services. It is fundamentally different from cosmetic - the doctor helps to delicately remove calluses and corns, rough skin, cracked heels, ingrown nails. Plastic surgery and prosthetics of the nail plate are also done in case of injury or deformation.

There are such problems and diseases of the foot that require early diagnosis and highly specialized treatment:

• thickening of the skin;
• calluses;
• warts;
• nail fungus;
• ingrown toenail problem;
• nail deformation
• special diseases in which the trophic processes of the limbs are disrupted (diabetes mellitus).

The podiatrist also selects corrective foot treatment, including massage, physical therapy, nail prosthetics (aesthetic, therapeutic), and also gives recommendations on therapeutic foot care and disease prevention.

The scope of activity of a podiatrist

First of all, he provides foot care. If any signs of disease are detected, he carries out prevention and tries to find the cause. The scope of care includes medical pedicure. It differs from the usual one in that here it is performed not by a cosmetologist, but by a podiatrist who fights heel cracks, calluses, corns, sweating and foot moisture. In addition, the podiatrist, using corrective systems, treats ingrown nails, prosthetics. He also gives recommendations on further care and use of cosmetics.

The next area in which a podiatrist is engaged is the treatment of "diabetic foot syndrome". It manifests itself in patients with diabetes, consists of a lack of sensitivity of the skin of the feet. This syndrome is also associated with roughness of the skin and the appearance of cracks between the toes. If a diabetic does not receive proper foot care, this can lead to disastrous consequences - gangrene. Therefore, regular visits to a podiatrist are necessary for people with this diagnosis.

First of all, high-quality medical foot care. After all, prevention of any disease is always more productive and cheaper than treatment. If care is carried out regularly, it is much easier for a specialist to notice changes characteristic of certain diseases.

Of course, a podiatrist will not make a diagnosis, much less treat, but, having noticed the signs of a developing problem in time, will refer the patient to the appropriate doctor. And when a diagnosis is made and treatment is prescribed, the podiatrist will carry out all the prescribed procedures. For example, many are familiar with such a problem as calluses.

Often people suffer from them for many years. Many from time to time resort to radical methods - laser therapy, surgical removal and the like, and nothing helps. In order to fight the problem effectively, you need to know how it arises and develops. And before removing the callus, the podiatrist will refer the patient to an orthopedist. After all, the appearance of a callus is a response of the skin to increased stress. Without removing the load, without redistributing it more evenly, it is impossible to get rid of calluses.

If the problem is not very serious, or is associated, for example, with incorrect finger placement, a podiatrist can solve it on the spot by making a custom orthosis (corrector) from silicone mass. In all other cases, a consultation with an orthopedic doctor is mandatory. The same situation applies to fungal infections. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment based on an analysis, but the treatment will be carried out by a podiatrist (regular cleaning and treatment with drugs, correction of the shape of the growing nail plate).

The podiatry office solves many problems related to the foot, such as treatment and special treatment of cracks, correction of ingrown nails. With modern equipment, cosmetics and technology, it is not at all necessary to run to the surgeon with these problems.

A large number of modern techniques allow a podiatrist to correct ingrown nails even in very advanced cases and in the presence of inflammation. Speaking about the problems that podiatrists deal with, we cannot ignore such a category of patients as diabetics. Diabetes is a very complex and serious disease that brings with it a whole range of problems. One of them is called "diabetic foot syndrome". Decreased immunity, deterioration of blood circulation, neuropathy (loss of sensitivity) - these are not all the difficulties that a podiatrist has to deal with when working with diabetics. And, of course, when caring for the feet of a diabetic, it is necessary to comply with a huge number of rules and restrictions. This includes the highest level of sanitary conditions of the office, and precise, almost jewelry-like treatment of problem areas, because even a small wound during treatment is fraught with big problems. But not only patients with serious problems can appreciate the benefits of the recently appeared podiatric offices. Regular hygienic treatment of feet without the risk of transmitting an infection from one patient to another is attractive in itself.