The Diabetic Foot Care Guide is Dr. Tom Biernacki’s illustrated guide to daily foot care, nerve pain, shoes, and knowing when to call. It is written for people with diabetes and for the family members who help with their foot care.
- ER or 911 now
A foot or leg that is suddenly cold, pale, blue or very painful. Any skin turning black. Redness spreading fast, or fever or chills with a foot wound.
- Call your foot doctor today
A new blister, cut, sore or crack. Fluid, pus or blood on a sock. A dark spot inside a callus. Any part of the foot newly red, warm or swollen, even if it doesn’t hurt.
Free while you wait
The 30-Second Daily Foot Check
One page: five steps before your socks go on, when to call and when to go to the ER, and a week of tick boxes for the fridge. Fill it in on screen or print it. (PDF, 1 page)
The free 35-page guide
The essentials, free: the daily check, the warning signs, skin, nail, shoe and sock care, a 7-day start and four printable pages. No sign-up.
What’s inside the book
- When a foot change needs emergency care, and when to call your clinician today
- A daily routine in three words (look, protect, build) and how to check every part of both feet
- Why diabetes changes foot care, and how to know your own risk
- Skin and nail care, and the jobs to leave to your care team
- Shoes, insoles and socks that fit your feet and your day
- Nerve pain: looking for a cause that can be treated, plus a five-step nerve care plan
- Blood flow, a newly hot or swollen foot, a new blister or open area, and protecting your feet after a wound heals
- GLP-1 medicines, weight loss, everyday meals and movement that fits your feet
- Supplements with the study results attached: vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium and B6, and alpha-lipoic acid
- Newer options such as shockwave and red light therapy, and why many useful treatments have only small studies behind them
- Making home and travel easier, and how a helper can assist with foot checks
- Printable tools: a daily foot care checklist, a two-week habit record, a seven-day start plan and an appointment worksheet
When the book is out, this page will hold every link and source mentioned in it, chapter by chapter.
About the author
Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS, is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and the founder of Balance Foot & Ankle, with offices in Howell and Bloomfield Township, Michigan. He treats diabetic foot disease, peripheral neuropathy, heel pain and foot and ankle reconstruction, and most of his work goes into keeping people from needing surgery. He also teaches foot care on YouTube.
See a podiatrist in Michigan
Balance Foot & Ankle checks feeling, blood flow, skin, nails, shoes and pressure points, then gives you a clear plan. Call (810) 206-1402.
Howell: 4330 E Grand River Ave, Howell, MI 48843
Bloomfield Township: 43494 Woodward Ave #208, Bloomfield Township, MI 48302
Both offices: Mon–Thu 9:00 AM–4:30 PM, Fri 9:00 AM–2:30 PM