Abstract: ObjectiveTo explore the protective methods to the patients with insensitive feet caused by leprosy.Methods295 patients affected by leprosy (PAL) with insensitive feet did self-care and wore protective shoes which were bought in general market and met the requireing of with soft and elastic insole,hard sole higher instep, et al.All the patients had been followed up for 3 years.ResultsAll cases persisted on wearing those shoes, only 1 case occured fresh ulcer and no ulcers relapsed.Cracks and ulcers on foot declined by 96.15% and 32.81% respectively, and bone loss had no change.ConclusionsThe protective foot-wears can prevent the fresh ulcers happening and the healed ulcers reappearing for PALs with numb feet. It is important to educate the PALs how to choose the kind of foot-wears and how to do self-care.

Key words: leprosy, insensitive feet, protective foot-wear, health education