Proper foot care is essential for the health of diabetic patients. This involves wearing comfortable shoes, frequent foot exams, and wearing white socks. The reason is because diabetes causes small blood vessels to die thereby killing the nerves they supply and making healing of wounds especially difficult. The patient can become numb in the feet and not feel foot injuries. Wearing white socks can alert the patient to any blood that may be coming from a foot injury so that prompt medical care can be delivered.