Are Diabetic Foot Ulcers bothering you, I am so sorry to be harsh on you but the reality is we don’t take blood glucose monitoring seriously, as a result we end up having high blood glucose levels which lead to long-term complications like Diabetes Foot Ulcers.
Foot ulcers are one of the most common complications diabetics have to face. According to some estimates, at least 15% diabetics develop these ulcers at some point during the course of their disease. These ulcers can be debilitating and can have serious consequences and can even lead to amputation if not taken care of well in time. This article discusses why diabetics get these ulcers and how to deal with them?
Why Diabetic Foot Ulcers Occur?
If you have long-standing diabetes, you are more likely to develop these ulcers. People who have a kidney or eye related problem have a higher risk of diabetic foot ulcer as do people who use insulin. Being overweight and use of alcohol can also worsen your condition.
There are two main reasons why diabetics develop foot ulcers. First, uncontrolled blood sugar severely damages the blood vessels in your body. As the blood vessels supplying to your feet get damaged, your feet do not get the right amount of oxygen and nutrients they need. This makes them prone to injury and ulceration. Secondly, diabetics also suffer serious nerve damage, which further accelerates the process of ulcer formation.
Statistics reveal that Only 54% were aware that diabetes could lead to reduced foot sensation and foot ulcers. Nearly 53% and 41% of the patients had good diabetes awareness and good diabetes care respectively. Only 22% of the patients had their feet examined by a health worker or doctor. you may refer the figure below
Signs and Symptoms:
Some major signs and symptoms of diabetic foot ulcer are:
- A weak foot or trouble in motion
- Pain in the foot
- Shiny skin on your foot that turns dark or pale
- Skin swelling or redness
- Sores or blisters on the lower leg
- Muscle cramps
Diabetic Foot Ulcer Treatment:
There have been a lot of improvements in the care diabetic ulcers get. Here are some of the methods used for ulcer treatment:
- Surgical Debridement:
Research has shown that diabetic foot ulcers heal faster when surgical debridement is performed regularly. In this procedure, the clinician uses sharp instruments, like scalpels or scissors to remove debris from the wound. Most diabetic people don’t have a problem with this procedure because of their diabetic neuropathy (damaged nerves due to which they do not feel much pain). Some advanced care dressings are used along with surgical debridement.
- Bioengineered Tissue Treatment:
Over several years, bioengineered tissues have become a viable option for people with diabetic ulcers. The tissues can either be obtained from the living human cells or a collagen lattice in which the body’s cells can migrate and begin healing. Some of these products are applied once every four weeks whereas others require weekly applications.
- Infection Control:
The limb threatening foot infections are mostly polymicrobial. Some common attacking pathogens include enterobacteriaceae, peptostreptococcus, bacteroides, and staphylococcus aureus. The patients suffering with these pathogenic infections should be hospitalized. These infections can be treated with antibiotics like cephalexin, moxifloxacin, amoxicillin and clindamycin. These antibiotics need to be taken when the initial cultures are taken.
- Growth Factor Treatment:
Human growth factors are the hormones involved in the healing process and their engineered versions are used in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers for healing purposes. Usually a gel containing human growth factor is used for treating diabetic foot ulcers. The gel should be applied daily at home.
5. Homoeopathic treatment : Homoeopathy claims to have effective solutions to treat diabetic foot ulcers naturally which are in severe stage, whereas allopathic suggest amputation / complex process. , So if you have a diabetic ulcer which is severe, Try to take the homoeopathic way.
Raw Honey is proven to be effective to cure diabetic sores, You may refer how Raw honey can be a great medicine if you have diabetic foot ulcers. you can read the article below written by a daughter who helped his father to treat her father’s diabetic foot ulcers with the help of raw honey
Raw honey can help to cure diabetic sores.
[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”B00EBNCVTA” locale=”US” src=”https://healthydietfordiabetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/31qcjdyVL5L.SL160.jpg” tag=”healdietfor09-20″ width=”71″]Castellani paint is also proved to be very effective initial treatment for diabetic foot ulcers, Is is used to dress your wounds, [easyazon_link identifier=”B00EBNCVTA” locale=”US” tag=”healdietfor09-20″]Castellani paint[/easyazon_link] can heal the ulcers slowly. if your foot ulcer is in advanced stage this may not help much.
Diabetic Foot ulcers Care:
Good foot care can prevent the ulcers from getting worse. Here are some foot care tips which might help you:
- Keep the wound clean and cover it with a bandage. You should also cover the wound with a plastic bath when taking bathe.
- Always cut your toe nails straight across and use a soft brush for cleaning.
- Never walk barefoot and don’t wear shoes without socks, wear [easyazon_link identifier=”B00RP6A6UQ” locale=”IN” tag=”readitt-21″]Footware[/easyazon_link] designed for Diabetic foot
- Wash your feet every day with warm water. Dry them with a towel carefully, especially the part between your toes.
- Your doctor might do your foot examination once every 6 months. However, you can get your feet checked more often like once or twice a month by a little effort on your part.
Conclusion: Now you know all you need to know about diabetic foot ulcers. So don’t just discard the things you have read; make use of these foot care tips and may be, in a five years period you might be taking part in a marathon. most importantly when it comes to Diabetic foot ulcers, Prevention is better than cure, So please focus more on controlling blood sugar levels and target today for a HBA1c less than 6 (Just like kristie reduced her HBA1c from 6.1% to 5.1% in 9 months) , To reduce HBA1c you should know how to reverse your Insulin Resistance.