Foot screening clinic set for Nov. 14

Get ready to bare your soles.

That's the signature phrase for a new group, the Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention Alliance, out to catch diabetic foot problems early enough to prevent them from causing severe complications, including foot or leg amputation.

LEAP Alliance will be making appointments for a foot screening event set for Nov. 14 at Desert Vista Community Center, 10360 Sun City Blvd.

LEAP Alliance works closely with both the Summerlin Lions Club and the Nevada Podiatric Medical Association to provide foot screenings. Dr. Larry Rubin, a retired podiatrist and Summerlin resident, is spearheading the effort with the Lions.

"This is my passion, because when you see a diabetic come in with serious problems, you know it all could have been avoided if they'd just had an exam," he said. "We're doing what President Obama asked us to do, to (help the community) at a grass-roots level."

Part of the foot screening exam requires that people remove their shoes and close their eyes while a tester applies pressure with a thin filament to certain spots on their soles.

"It looks like a nylon fishing line, but it's a calibrated, standardized filament," Rubin said.

The nerve test takes less than two minutes. The closed-eye portion ensures that the subject is relying only on their sense of touch. Those who test positive are advised to follow up with their doctor.

How well do the goals of the Lions and LEAP Alliance fit together?

"Both want to do something to help the community," said Esther Louie, Summerlin Lions Club board director, who added that LEAP's licensed podiatrists play an important role in gaining the trust of people.

Lions member Rex Doty tested people at the three events that LEAP already has held.

"I saw a guy with a sore on the bottom of his foot that was about the size of a quarter, and he didn't even know it," he said.

According to World Health Sciences, the North American population has a 9.2 percent rate of diabetes. That means there are about 217,000 diabetics in the state of Nevada, with 212,514 living in Clark County.

Early detection can prompt a person to make lifestyle changes to control their diabetes, such as losing weight.

"Type 2 diabetes is occurring in much younger people, mainly because of obesity," Rubin said. "There's a relationship between the two."

Arlene Rubin ran the office for her husband's practice in Chicago. Diabetes runs in her family, and she herself was diagnosed almost two years ago. Even back when she was working with her husband, she knew that eating sugar was counter-intuitive for diabetics.

"I used to get livid," she said. "All the diabetics he'd see, after their exam, they'd come out eating candy. It drove me nuts."

Larry Wagman, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at 21, asked his doctor why he wasn't checking his soles.

"He told me, 'I only have seven or eight minutes with each patient, I don't have time,' " Wagman said. "I walked out of his office ... now I go to a doctor who has a sign that says, 'Diabetics, take off your shoes.' "

For more information about the group, call 233-5253 or visit http://leapalliance.org.

Contact Summerlin View and South Summerlin View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.