If you are suffering from diabetes, then you have more chances of ulcers and sores!
When you have these issues on your skin, then these can’t heal. The most common place where you have more chances of ulcers is the legs and feet.
But don’t think that these can’t form in other areas like the hand, skin or stomach. So, to avoid the risk of ulcers, you should use medical boots and other medicated pads.
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Symptoms and Signs of Foot and leg Ulcers:
When you talk about ulcers and their connection with diabetes, then you must remember that there are many causes of getting an ulcer!
The main reason that becomes the cause of ulcers is high blood sugar. With increasing time, this issue causes damage to your nerves and vessels.
FACT: As per BodyWell Group, your blood flow becomes low in different areas that cause difficulty in wound healing. That is the reason that increases the chance of getting an infection in different areas of your body.
Further, you should know that diabetes has a direct link with peripheral arterial disease.
It is the main reason that causes the lowering of blood flow in your legs and feet.
How Can You Treat Leg and Foot Ulcers?
Suppose you see that your skin is changing day by day or get an ulcer.
For this, you need to get a procedure known as debridement. This process helps in the removal of infected tissue that causes improved healing of wounds!
FACT: As per Dr. Joel Richard in London, it is the duty of your doctor to keep your wound or ulcer from getting infected before it becomes bigger.
Credit: istockphoto
Clean your ulcer daily:
It is vital for you to wash your ulcer on a regular basis with soap or water.
But it is good to use the cleanser recommended by your doctor.
TIP: You should avoid using hydrogen peroxide or also avoid soaking your infected area in a bath.
The reason is that it becomes the cause of lowering of the healing process and increase of infection.
Keep your ulcer bandaged all the time:
The steps in which you need to bandage your ulcer depends on the location of the ulcer. Your doctor firstly checks where your ulcer is present then recommends the step to bandage.
You have heard about not covering the wound, but it’s not good.
FACT: Dr. Jamie Neely doctor recommend covering the wound; otherwise, it becomes more likely to infection.
Keep pressure off your ulcer:
This step is more important to consider if you have a foot ulcer.
For this situation, you must use footwear, braces or other devices.
TIP: You must avoid irritation and low pressure on your ulcer that cause its fast healing.
Use the topical medications:
You can call these medicines that are used on the skin. These include saline, growth factors and skin substitute!
Keep your blood sugar under control:
If you just lower your blood sugar, then it is the best treatment to cure your ulcer.
In this way, your ulcer starts healing faster suggested by Dr. Michelle Campbell.
Tips to Prevent Leg and Foot Ulcers
The following are the tips that help you a lot in the prevention of ulcers:
Keep your blood sugar under control:
It is important for you to keep your blood sugar under control. It is the best way to keep your small wounds from becoming the biggest ulcer issue.
If you can’t manage your sugar, then you must consult your doctor. Then your doctor will guide you about the medicines and your changed lifestyle.
As a result, it causes decreased chances of your blood sugar being high.
Further, if you see that your sugar level is continuously high, then you must consult the doctor.
TIP: If you have an issue of neuropathy and don’t feel damage to your skin. Then it is the key to knowing that you have high blood sugar.
Check your skin every day:
Dr. Laina Shulman suggest that It is also vital for you to regularly check your skin and feet. You must check for scratches, sores, cuts, wounds, color changing and much more.
TIP: You don’t need to focus on pain only if you feel more warm or cold. Then it is also a sign that you have an open wound on your skin. There are also chances when you don’t feel any pain and warmth, or cold.
The most common place where an ulcer can form is the ball of the foot and the bottom of the toe.
So, you must check your feet daily in the morning and night. If you notice that there is some issue, then you must call the doctor!
Don’t smoke:
People who smoke daily have damaged blood vessels, low blood circulation and healing.
These are the factors that increase the chances of having ulcers!
Don’t walk barefoot:
If you walk barefoot, then it causes injury to your feet and becomes a serious issue. So, you must wear shoes that cover your feet and avoid injuries.
FACT: Medicare centers suggest you use prescription shoes to cover your foot injury.
How Can You Identify The Ulcers Symptoms?
The first sign of an ulcer is that your foot starts leaking some liquid. As a result, it causes the soaking of your socks and feet.
Further, other symptoms of ulcers include inflammation, irritation, redness and much more.
The most important sign of an ulcer is that your feet start becoming black.
The reason for it is that blood can’t reach the area of the ulcer properly!
TIP: If you feel slight or complete gangrene in the area of your ulcer, then it is also a sign of an ulcer. It is just because your tissues become damaged because of infection. In this situation, you feel more pain, discharge of liquid and irritation.
According to the Wagner Ulcer Classification System, a doctor can recognize the intensity of an ulcer using a scale of 0-5:
| Scaling | Ulcer Classification |
| 0 | no open cuts; sometimes healed cut |
| 1 | an apparent ulcer that doesn’t reach to deep layers |
| 2 | deep ulcer, penetrate to tendons, bones or joints |
| 3 | involvement of deep tissues with swelling, osteomyelitis or tendonitis |
| 4 | gangrene in an area of the heel |
| 5 | widespread gangrene in the entire foot |
Final Verdict:
In the last, we have concluded that there are many causes of back pain causes. But don’t think that you can’t prevent it.
We also have discussed many tips and steps that you should consider for the prevention of ulcers!
TIP: You must know that ulcer is due to diabetes, so; you can’t prevent it using insulin, exercise and diet.
When your skin tissue becomes damaged, you can see your inner layers. Then you must consider it an ulcer because it is the main sign of an ulcer!
