Sock marks are usually nothing. With diabetes, they're worth a second look.

Diabetes can quietly dull the feeling in the feet, so pressure and rubbing can go unnoticed. Here's what the marks can tell you, and the 2-minute daily check that spots trouble before it hurts.

Tonight, when the socks come off, take a look at the lower legs. Yours, or those of someone you look after. Most of us see a faint line and think nothing of it, and most of the time that's right. For anyone living with diabetes, it's worth a closer look.

The problem you can't feel

Diabetes can quietly dull the feeling in the feet. When that happens, a rub, a blister or a small cut can go unnoticed, because it doesn't hurt the way it used to.

It's more common than most people think. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about half of people with diabetes have some nerve damage.

That's the strange part. With diabetic feet, the problems that matter most are often the ones that don't hurt at all.

In one Gauteng study of people with diabetes at public clinics:

About 2.3 million South African adults live with diabetes, and about 7 in 10 of them don't know it yet.

What the red rings tell you

Now the question worth asking. If a sock grips hard enough to leave a mark you can see, what is it doing all day that you can't feel? A tight top. A seam across the toes. A foot that stays damp from morning to night.

You can't always feel it. So you have to look.

Two minutes that change the picture

International foot-care guidelines advise people with diabetes who are at risk to check their feet every day. Not once a year at the clinic. Every day.

Your doctor might see your feet once a year. You see them every morning. The check takes about two minutes, it costs nothing, and it's the one thing that's completely in your hands.

It comes down to three things:

• The Red Ring Test. What the marks on your legs say about your socks.
• The Blind Spot. Why you can't rely on feeling, and the two-minute check that finds what you'd miss.
• The Morning Coffee Routine. How to make it stick, even for a husband or dad who "doesn't do fuss".

We've put all three into a short, free guide, with a clear "when to act" page and a weekly chart for the fridge.

Who we are

We're Cape Mohair. We've made mohair socks in Cape Town since 1991, including our Diabetic Medical Sock, endorsed by Diabetes South Africa.

We wrote this guide because the right socks only do half the job. The other half is two minutes of looking, every day.

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This article is general information. It doesn't replace advice from your doctor, nurse or podiatrist.