I was cutting my lawn this weekend and a gaggle of little children ran by in their bare feet and it reminded me of a topic that comes up here from time to time, usually by well meaning, newly diagnosed parents. They wonder if it’s OK to let their children with Type 1 go barefoot in the summer. (Spoiler Alert: Yes, it’s OK) Since Summer has started, I thought I would post this in case anyone was wondering.
In the past I've always agree with your position....and my kid grew up without shoes more than she wore them. However, this year my friend's son had thermal imaging binoculars that he was showing us. When I was looking through them, I noticed my daughter's feet were black at the ends, gray in the middle, and lighter toward the heels. The feet of the rest of us glowed. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. She still goes shoeless some, but she knows that her feet are at greater risk of not healing well. This is with a history of in-range A1Cs.
I'm sorry you're concerned. I am still not sure what that all means. Are you thinking that her circulation is poor in her feet and therefore the blood is not flowing to her toes? Does she have any other symptoms of neuropathy? Did you look at her hands through the binoculars? You would expect if there was an issue with her extremities it would effect all of them.
I'm sorry that you saw something thru the binoculars that was unpleasant. I can definitely understand your concern, however, in this day & age, I agree...free the feet! My child has danced ballet and on pointe for a number of years...I can't even fathom how hers would look under this scope! BUT...I have to think that the treatments of today are so far improved over those of years past & I know that my daughter's control is better than a lot of folks(not necessarily everyone on this site, lol) and I am going to believe that she is going to be ok & not stress out about ONE MORE THING I have no control over!!
