Podiatrists or chiropodists are health care professionals who are trained to prevent, diagnose and treat various problems related to the feet and ankles. They can also advise you on how to take proper care of your feet as well as on the right types of shoes to wear. Some of the problems they treat include smelly feet, sports injuries, warts, ingrown toenails, blisters and scaling on the soles among others. Here are four tips to help you in finding the right foot doctor for your situation:
Tips
Specialty
Since there
are several areas of specialization within the podiatry field, it is very important that you choose a doctor who specializes in the problems you are having. For instance, sports podiatrists focus on sports-related injuries, while surgical podiatrists specialize in fixing foot problems via surgery. Finding the right specialist will ensure that you get the best diagnosis and treatment for your specific foot problem.
Ask Around
A great starting point to find the right foot specialist is through a referral. Ask your family members and friends if they know of any good doctor they can recommend to you. Make sure you ask about their experience with the doctor and how they were treated. If you have a personal doctor, you should also consider asking him or her for recommendations. Most doctors know a circle of doctors that they connect with regularly, so it’s highly likely that your personal doctor will refer you to someone with the right skills and experience for your problem.
Research
Other than depending on referrals, doing a simple internet research can help you find names of recommended foot doctors in your area. Be sure also to read customer reviews online to know about the experiences of previous patients with various doctors and help you decide whether they are right for you or not.
Expertise and credentials
When you finally get an appointment with your new foot doctor, be sure to ask the right questions (for instanc
e, his credentials and area of expertise). This is the only way to get to know that he is qualified to treat your foot problem. Most doctors are usually happy and willing to answer all the questions you may have to help put your mind at ease. Therefore, if you come across a podiatrist who gets upset when you ask so many questions, or doesn’t answer them to your satisfaction, you should seriously consider looking for someone else.
With these tips, finding the right foot doctor who will provide you with the best service possible should be much easier.