How Diabetes Impacts Wound Care Treatment?

 Diabetes happens when your body cannot produce enough or use insulin which helps it to turn glucose or sugar into energy. Difficulty in metabolizing glucose can lead to high blood sugar levels which can affect your body’s ability to heal wounds. In individuals with diabetes, wounds tend to heal more slowly and progress more quickly so it is important to know what signs to look out for. Your feet are the most common places of injury including cuts, blisters, grazes, scratches and more, and a small wound on your foot can quickly develop into a foot ulcer if not looked after properly. 


Foot ulcers are serious and if left untreated will either end in a diabetic foot ulcer treatment in Baltimore or surgery of your lower limb amputation. For this reason, it’s important that you do regular self-checks and closely monitor any injuries you have to reduce your risk of complications. 

Here are a couple more reasons why the healing process is slow and how to speed it up and improve your body’s healing slowly.


  • High blood sugar levels

When it comes to wound care treatment, your blood sugar level is the main factor in how quickly your wound will heal. When your blood sugar is higher than normal, it increases inflammation in your body’s cells, prevents nutrients and oxygen from energizing cells and your immune system from functioning efficiently. All these factors can slow down wound care treatment in Baltimore. 


  • Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy can result from having blood sugar levels that rise over time and cause damage to the nerves and vessels which can cause the affected areas to lose sensation. Neuropathy is quite common in the hands and feet and when this happens you may not be able to feel any wounds or cuts and this is one major reason why foot wounds tend to be common with diabetic patients.


  • Poor circulation

People with diabetes are more likely to develop the peripheral vascular disease due to poor circulation which causes your blood vessels to narrow and reduce blood flow to the limbs. This condition can affect wound care treatment and cause your blood vessels to narrow which reduces blood flow to your limbs. It also affects the ability of red blood cells to pass through the vessels easily and increases the thickness of the blood which can affect diabetic foot ulcer treatment. 


  • Infection

If you are  suffering from diabetes, your body may struggle to fight off bacteria that cause infection. Higher than normal blood sugar levels can increase the risk of infection as bacteria thrive on extra sugar in the bloodstream and it also prevents immune cells from fighting off bacteria. This will not only affect your wound care treatment in Baltimore but if left untreated can lead to sepsis or gangrene. 



If wounds are left untreated and not monitored, it can lead to an infection or a more serious complication. The more serious concern, if wounds are not taken care of, is amputation of the foot. So, to make it easier to see blood or other signs of drainage on your socks you can wear white socks and head to your podiatrist if you are experiencing tingling, loss of sensation, swelling, persistent pain, or if your symptoms worsen and last longer than a week. The faster you get treated and keep your diabetes under control, the better it will be.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bunion: An Overview & its Types

Bone deformity of the joint at the base of the big toe is known as a bunion. The main prodrome behind bunion is the big toe pointing towards the other toes on the same foot which often compel the foot bone attached to it to stick outwards. Some of the symptoms of a bunion are: You will see a bony and swollen bump on the outside edge of your foot. Pain and swelling over your big toe joint due to pressure from wearing shoes. You might find hard, red and callused skin by your big toe and second toe overlapping or the sore skin over the top of the bunion. Therefore, these symptoms can sometimes get worse if left untreated, so it is always best to concern podiatric surgery Baltimore where a doctor will ask about your symptoms and also examine your foot carefully. Bunion often takes place slowly over time and finally gets bigger and sticks out. One of the main reasons behind bunion is; shoes that don’t fit well or conditions that often make your joints swell and hurt su...
Read more

Foot Care: Why It Matters A for People with Diabetes?

Foot care is of the utmost importance if you have diabetes but do you know why? Read on to find out why foot care should be a priority if you have been diagnosed with diabetes. Foot problems are quite common for people who have diabetes and their feet can be affected in two ways. Either their blood supply can be affected which may result in slower healing, or they can also lose feeling and sensation in their feet which may be a result of nerve damage. A person who has nerve damage may not realise when they have minor cuts, blisters, or even injuries and this can lead to ulcers or even worse, gangrene. All these problems can be avoided if you take care of your feet and act quickly when you have an issue.  Getting diabetic foot ulcer treatment in Baltimore as well as checked by a doctor at least once or a year or every couple of months can help prevent complications.  Why does foot care matter? Diabetes can cause a lot of circulation problems and nerve damage. These can lead to...
Read more