Bellevue Dermatologist Shares Z-CoiL Experience and Offers Timely Advice

Carla Bauman, MD is a repeat customer at "Your 2 Feet", formerly Z-CoiL of Seattle.

Dr. Bauman says: "As a dermatologist, I am on my feet for many hours per day. I specialize in treating skin cancer. I was looking for a solution for relieving my knee, back and neck pain that I get after a long work week."

Dr. Bauman found out about the Z-CoiL's from a long term friend who is a head and neck surgeon in Bellevue. Dr. Bauman says,"I got turned on to the Z-CoiL's 3 years ago and I have never looked back. My knee, back and neck pain are nearly resolved, unless I don't wear my Z-CoiLs."

She continues: "As of today, I now have 7 pairs of Z-CoiL styles: Mary Janes; with the purchase today I have 2 pairs of clogs (my dog chewed up my first pair); 2 pairs of Tias (T-strap) in black and blue; with my purchase today I have 2 pairs of the Z-breeze. I bought all of my shoes from "Your 2 Feet". My priority is comfort at the end of the day."

Dr. Bauman follows in the footsteps of her father's profession. He was a prominent dermatologist. She thinks he might have relieved so many of his back pain issues if he had worn the Z-CoiL's.

Dr. Bauman stresses the importance of having your skin professionally evaluated for suspicious signs of skin cancer. For instance this might be a mole or skin raised that shows any of the following characteristics:
1. Asymmetry (one side different than the other)
2. Borders irregular (not smooth borders)
3. Color variation (change in color)
4. Diameter greater than 6 mm.
5. Evolving (any change of any kind)
The best practice is to avoid the sun, wear a chemical free mineral based sunscreen on exposed areas, and use skin protection from the sun's damaging UV rays such a hat and/or an umbrella.

Dr. Bauman is an advocate for you to "Take care of your feet and your skin".

Carla Bauman, MD is accepting new patients for evaluation and treatment of skin cancer or cosmetic surgery.

Bel-Red Dermatology
1260 116th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
425-455-3376
http://www.cjbmd.com/

Plantar Fascitis and Back Pain Relief For The Rice's

Jeff and Kathy came in to "Your 2 Feet", formerly Z-CoiL of Seattle, to buy their 7th and 3rd pair of Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear respectively.

Jeff has been wearing his Z-CoiL's for 10 years because they help relieve his back pain from disc deterioration.

Jeff has been working for 34 years as a machinist making bakery equipment for Belshaw Manufacturing. This work entails a lot of bending and, he says, "I got old". He wears his steel toe Z-Walkers at work.

Jeff has two years to retire and is looking forward to traveling the US in his RV. So far they have taken two week road trips to Arizona and other RV parks locally. Arizona was so hot on his Arizona trip the glue "let go" on the seams of his Z-walker shoes.

Jeff and Kathy live in Bonney Lake. Jeff first heard about the Z-CoiL's from his chiropractor who recommended them. He purchased his first pair of Z-CoiLs 10 years ago from the now closed Puyallup store. He tried the Z-CoiL's and "loved them". After a month adjustment period, he noticed the Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear helped his back. He says, " I recommend the Z-CoiLs to anyone who asks about them, like the sales clerks in stores. I tell them they really helped me and everyone should wear them. I wouldn't wear anything else."

The 6th and 7th pair he just bought are the Black Freedom athletic shoes and the sidewinder sandal. As mentioned earlier he owns the steel toe z-walkers and a few pairs without a steel toes.

Kathy Rice bought her first pair of Z-CoiL's one year ago when she saw how much relief her husband got and she was seeking relief. When she walks any distance she wears the Z-CoiL since they help relieve her plantar fascitis pain. She works in a refridgerated truck bending a lot on a ridged surface so she is unable to wear the shoes at work. She wanted a summer and a winter pair so she added a black freedom and a sidewinder sandal to her pain relief collection of Z-CoiL's.

Kathy and Jeff have discovered the pain relieving features of the Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear and are eager to share their story. Come tell us your experiences so we can add them to the growing list of success stories from "Your 2 Feet" located at the base of Capital Hill in Seattle-1201 Pine St. 206-838-7338

QR Codes: Find Healthy Chocolate at Your 2 Feet

Geeks Unite With QR Codes...Snap It!

QR Code points to the url for viewing interviews of Your 2 Feet customers reactions to wearing their Z-coil footwear. Note that the white border is part of the encoding.A QR Code is a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobiles phones with camera, and smartphones.

Evaluation and Prevention of Diabetic Neuropathy

Early findings and diagnoses can direct your podiatrist on the most expedient treatment and prevention of complications. When you notice that your foot feels "different", seek immediate attention, especially if you are a diabetic.

Diabetic Neuropathy is a debilitating disorder that occurs in nearly 50 percent of patients with diabetes. It is a late finding in type 1 diabetes but can be an early finding in type 2 diabetes. The primary types of diabetic neuropathy are sensorimotor and autonomic. Patients may present with only one type of diabetic neuropathy or may develop combinations of neuropathies (e.g., distal symmetric polyneuropathy and autonomic neuropathy). Distal symmetric polyneuropathy is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy also can cause motor deficits, silent cardiac ischemia, orthostatic hypotension, vasomotor instability, hyperhidrosis, gastroparesis, bladder dysfunction, and sexual dysfunction. Strict glycemic control and good daily foot care are key to preventing complications of diabetic neuropathy.

Diabetic neuropathy can affect any part of the nervous system. This nerve disorder should be suspected in all patients with type 2 diabetes and in patients who have had type 1 diabetes for more than five years. In some instances, patients with diabetic neuropathy have few complaints, but their physical examination reveals mild to moderately severe sensory loss. Idiopathic neuropathy has been found to precede the onset of type 2 diabetes or to occur as an early finding in the disease

If you have diabetes keep educated about proper foot care and check your feet daily.
Enroll in the Medicare Diabetic Shoe Program that allows for reimbursement for qualified diabetics and qualified shoes.
You should have an annual foot examination by a podiatrist or other health care professional.

Conveniently Dr. Kerch, ABPS certified and FACFS member,is accepting new patients. Due to her experience treating diabetic complications over the years, she is very invested in early diagnoses, prevention and treatment. Beginning with conservative care, she can begin the process of enrolling you in the Medicare Shoe Reimbursement Program. Since Dr. Kerch's Clinic is located behind the Your 2 Feet Pain Relief Shoe and Product Store (A-Z), you will have easy access to a vast array of qualified shoes to choose from.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAPMA#p/a/u/1/naPh1MftHVM

Diabetic Serious Complication and Prevention

Rare Diabetes Foot Complication Becoming More Common
Few patients or care providers know about this limb-threatening foot condition, or its warning signs:

At first, Kim Schraeder didn't worry about the swelling in her left foot. After all, it was pulling double-duty while her other foot recovered from surgery.

"I have a high threshold for pain," she says. "It hurt to walk on it, but I didn't think it was serious."

Just a year earlier, doctors diagnosed the 48-year-old mother of four with diabetes. The recent surgery on her right foot corrected a bunion to prevent reoccurring diabetic ulcers. As Schraeder's bunion recovery moved forward, her left foot moved outwards. Her ankle bent inwards. The foot grew so swollen none of her shoes fit. The skin was warm and red. Schraeder started to worry.

During a follow-up visit with her podiatrist, she spoke up. Her doctor took one look and said, "We have a problem."

Schraeder was diagnosed with a rare diabetic complication called Charcot foot. It is estimated to affect less than one percent of people with diabetes. Now doctors with the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons say Charcot foot's prevalence appears to be growing as more Americans get diabetes. Some worry that few patients - or their diabetes care providers - seem to know about this complication or its warning signs.

Charcot foot is a sudden softening of the foot's bones caused by severe neuropathy, or nerve damage, a common diabetic foot complication. It can trigger an avalanche of problems, including joint loss, fractures, collapse of the arch, massive deformity, ulcers, amputation, and even death. As the disorder progresses, the bottom of the foot can become convex, bulging like the hull of a ship. Since most people with Charcot cannot feel pain in their lower extremities, they continue walking on the foot, causing further injury.

Charcot cannot be reversed, but its destructive effects can be stopped if the complication is detected early.

The symptoms of Charcot foot appear suddenly. They include warm and red skin, swelling and pain. A person with diabetes who has a red, hot, swollen foot or ankle requires emergency medical care because these can also be symptoms of deep vein thrombosis or an infection.

Doctors say Charcot's ambiguous symptoms can lead to misdiagnosis. Since patients don't feel pain, doctors may presume the swelling is due to infection and prescribe antibiotics. Meanwhile the patient continues walking on a foot that is collapsing.

"More people with diabetes, their families and their care providers need to know about Charcot foot," says J. T. Marcoux. DPM, FACFAS, one of only a handful of Massachusetts foot and ankle surgeons who performs Charcot foot reconstructions. "When I diagnose a patient with this complication, I telephone their primary care doctor and educate them about it as well."

Schraeder says no one told her about Charcot. "It was not even in my vocabulary," she says. "If someone had educated me, I think I would have been more aware that I had a major problem."

But educating patients and their care providers is only half the battle. Keith Jacobson, DPM, FACFAS is the Houston foot and ankle surgeon who diagnosed and reconstructed Schraeder's Charcot foot. He and Marcoux say there's little they can do when patients are apathetic or in "diabetic denial."

"I've had patients who are literally blind, on dialysis and neuropathic who refuse to admit they have diabetes," says Jacobson. "I have seen horrific deformities with this condition."

Marcoux tells of a middle-aged woman he diagnosed with Charcot. Typically the first order of business is to immobilize the foot by putting the patient in a boot or cast, and to keep the patient off the foot by using crutches or a wheelchair. Marcoux says his patient was "in massive denial" about her Charcot diagnosis.

"I tried to get her off the foot, but she wouldn't do it" he says, "Six months later she came in with a bone infection and a gaping hole in her foot."

Foot and ankle surgeons expect to see more patients like that as diabetes rates soar.

Today, Schraeder is back to walking on both feet. Three months after her Charcot diagnosis, she underwent reconstructive surgery. Her recovery included spending three months in a "halo" external fixator where a series of pins and screws are placed into the bones and connected to clamps and rods outside the skin. She then wore a custom shoe boot for nearly a year.

The experience taught her four children to appreciate their mother a lot more, since all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry fell on their shoulders.

"They're all like hawks now," she says. "If I'm sitting here with bare feet, they'll look to make sure they're not red, hot and swollen."

Conveniently Dr. Kerch, ABPS certified and FACFS member, is accepting new patients. Due to her experience treating diabetic complications over the past 28 years, she is very invested in early diagnoses, prevention and treatment. Beginning with conservative care, she can begin the process of enrolling you in the Medicare Shoe Reimbursement Program. Since Dr. Kerch's Clinic is located behind the Your 2 Feet Pain Relief Shoe and Product Store (A-Z), you will have easy access to a vast array of qualified shoes to choose from.

Diabetic Self-Exam and Dr. Kerch Starts Your Process for Medicare Shoe Reimbursement Program

Foot Care For Diabetics
A regular self-exam will show indications for further follow-up:

1. Balance. A good test for balance involves standing on one foot, with your arms out to the side and your eyes closed. If you are less than 30 years old, you should be able to balance for 15 seconds, 30-40 years old for 12 seconds, 40-50 years old for 10 seconds and over 50 years old for seven seconds. This can be improved with exercises.

2. Circulation. Look at the color of your toes. Are they red, pink, purple or blue? Press down on the nail of your big toe until the color blanches. Now let go and allow the blood flow to return to your toe. The return of normal color should take 2-5 seconds in a person with average circulation.
At Your 2 Feet you can choose from the Jobst styles of support stockings. Support stockings are to be put on first thing in the morning so the compression will help pump the circulation back to your heart all day long. If you have haven't tried Jobst support hose yet, they are different than other brands of support hose.

3. Flexibility. How flexible are your toes? Try to pick up a marble or a small dish towel. To test your ankle flexibility, hang your heel off of a stair. Now let the heel go below the level of the stair. If this causes pain, stop the test. If your heel goes below the level of the stair without causing strain in your calf, that is a goof sign. If there is some strain, this can be improved with flexibility exercises.

4.Pain. There should be no pain in the average foot.

5. Sensation. Take a pencil eraser and lightly run it on the top, bottom and both sides of your feet. The sensation should feel equal in all quadrants. It may tickle on the bottom of the feet. That is normal. The last paragraph outlines how Dr. Kerch works with Your 2 Feet in fitting you with the proper diabetic footwear.

6. Skin. Check your skin for calluses, blisters or areas of irritation. Stand next to your shoes. Are they shaped like your feet or are they causing areas of constriction that may result in calluses, blisters or irritation? Put your hand inside your shoe. Are there seams, tacks or rough places in the shoe that correspond to the areas of irritation, calluses or blisters on your feet?

The following items may result in burns and you should NOT be using:
A. Hot tap water or super-heated water from the "Insta hot" faucet used on towels which are wrapped in additional layers of towels, chucks, or blankets.

B. Towels, rice packs or anything else heated in the microwave that is intended for food (temperature limit is not controlled; it’s also a fire risk).

C. A disposable latex glove filled with hot tap water. Even if mixed with cold tap water, the glove can burst and spill on the patient causing a burn.

7. If you have diabetes, keep educated about proper foot care and check your feet daily.
You should have an annual foot examination by a podiatrist or other health care professional.

Conveniently Dr. Kerch, ABPS certified and FACFS member is accepting new patients. Due to her experience treating diabetic complications over the years, she is very invested in early diagnoses, prevention and treatment. Beginning with conservative care, she can begin the process of enrolling you in the Medicare Shoe Reimbursement Program. Since Dr. Kerch's Clinic is located behind the Your 2 Feet Pain Relief Shoe and Product Store (A-Z), you will have easy access to a vast array of qualified shoes to choose from.

Fitflop "Trunk Show"

Come Join us tommorrow Aug 3 for a very special event!

The representative from Fitflop, Candace, will be with us from 11AM-1PM, although she may stay until 3PM.

She will be giving a free pedometer with every fitflop purchase.

Come see all the fun styles that exercise your legs when you walk with them.

As an added incentive enjoy $10.00 off each fitflop purchase tommorrow! Now's the time to stock up on your Fitflop's.