Can I Treat My Ankle Sprain at Home?
Are you nursing a throbbing, swollen, sprained ankle? If you’ve experienced an ankle injury, you may wonder when it’s OK to treat it at home and when you should seek care. Learn this and more here.
Why Foot Ulcers Are So Dangerous With Diabetes
Diabetes is a worrisome epidemic across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 2023, over 40 million Americans were living with the condition, with numbers expected to rise, particularly among youth, in the coming years.
Unfortunately, people living with diabetes are vulnerable to many health complications. One is foot ulcers, painful open sores that are slow to heal and cause complications of their own.
At Midwest Foot & Ankle Associates, Dr. Biren Shah has specialized expertise in treating a range of foot conditions associated with diabetes, including ulcers. He and his compassionate care team are invested in diagnosing and delivering the most advanced foot ulcer care and educating patients about preventive steps to avoid developing an ulcer.
Foot ulcers and diabetes
First, let’s look at some of the other complications diabetes can cause, because they also increase your risk of developing a foot ulcer:
- Kidney disease
- Eye disease/vision problems
- Heart disease
- Nerve damage
- Blood vessel damage
Insulin users are also more likely to develop a foot ulcer, as are those who smoke, drink excessive amounts of alcohol, and carry extra pounds.
How complications of diabetes can cause foot ulcers
Foot ulcers may develop when a combination of problems familiar to people living with diabetes occurs. These include circulation problems, traumatic injury, and diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage) that causes an individual to experience numbness and tingling in their feet.
For instance, the numbness associated with neuropathy can make it difficult to sense blisters, cuts, or other injuries that can evolve into foot ulcers. Poor vision associated with retinopathy can reduce activity levels, which increases the risk of circulatory problems.
Heart and kidney disease can also affect circulation, and faulty circulation reduces blood flow and slows healing of an injury. These issues can all work together to increase the risk of serious foot ulcers.
Potential health complications of diabetic foot ulcers
A foot ulcer is prone to infection, which can become life-threatening if it causes sepsis, a systemic infection that can lead to organ failure. Diabetic foot ulcers that don’t heal are also a major cause of toe, foot, and leg amputations.
Because of this, it’s critical to learn how to properly care for your feet as part of managing diabetes effectively, and Dr. Shah and the team are here to help you with that as well.
You should be careful to:
- Inspect your feet for any injuries, blisters, or calluses daily
- Clean and dry your feet well, and use lukewarm, rather than hot water
- Moisturize your feet
- Wear shoes that fit well and don’t rub on any part of your foot
- Change your socks daily, make sure they stay dry, and wear socks to bed too
- Cut your toenails carefully, not too short, and always straight across
- Spray the bottoms of your feet with antiperspirant to discourage sweating
- Always wear shoes, inside and outside
Notably, even a pressure point from poorly fitting shoes can eventually become a foot ulcer. Taking great care of your feet, as well as taking proper precautions to avoid injury, are powerful practices that help you avoid developing a dangerous, stubborn, and painful foot ulcer.
Learn more and get the care you need by contacting our Elgin or Rockford office to make an appointment, or book one online.
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