Diabetic Foot Management in Pune | Dr. Chetan Mhaske
Foot problems are common in people with diabetes. They can happen over time when high blood sugar damages the nerves and blood vessels in the feet. The nerve damage, called diabetic neuropathy, can cause numbness, tingling, pain, or a loss of feeling in your feet.
Signs of Diabetic Foot Problems
If you have diabetes, contact your doctor if you have any of these problems:
Changes in skin color
Changes in skin temperature
Swelling in the foot or ankle
Pain in the legs
Open sores on the feet that are slow to heal or are draining
Ingrown toenails or toenails infected with fungus
Corns or calluses
Dry cracks in the skin, especially around the heel
Foot odor that is unusual or won't go away
Complications of Diabetic Foot Problems:
Skin and bone infections: A small cut or wound can lead to infections. Nerve and blood vessel damage, along with immune system problems, make them more likely. Most infections happen in wounds previously treated with antibiotics. Infections can be treated with antibiotics. Severe cases may require treatment in a hospital.
Abscess: Sometimes infections eat into bones or tissue and create a pocket of pus called an abscess. The common treatment is to drain the abscess. It may require removal of some bone or tissue, but newer methods, like oxygen therapy, are less invasive.
Gangrene: Diabetes affects the blood vessels that supply your fingers and toes. When blood flow is cut off, tissue can die. Treatment is usually oxygen therapy or surgery to remove the affected area.
Deformities: Nerve damage can weaken the muscles in your feet and lead to problems like hammertoes, claw feet, prominent metatarsal heads (ends of the bones below your toes), and pes cavus, or a high arch that won’t flatten when you put weight on it.
Charcot foot: Diabetes can weaken the bones in your foot so much that they break. Nerve damage can lessen sensation and prevent you from realizing it. You keep walking on broken bones and your foot will change shape. It might look like your arch has collapsed into a rocker shape.
Amputation: Problems with blood flow and nerves make it more likely for people with diabetes to get a foot injury and not realize it until infection sets in. When an infection can’t be healed, creates an abscess, or if low blood flow leads to gangrene, amputation is often the best treatment.
Treatment Option-
The primary goal in the treatment of foot ulcers is to obtain healing as soon as possible. The faster the healing of the wound, the less chance for an infection.
There are several key factors in the appropriate treatment of a diabetic foot ulcer:
Prevention of infection
Taking the pressure off the area, called “off-loading”
Removing dead skin and tissue, called “debridement”
Applying medication or dressings to the ulcer
Managing blood glucose and other health problems
Not all ulcers are infected; however, if your podiatric physician diagnoses an infection, a treatment program of antibiotics, wound care, and possibly hospitalization will be necessary.
Preventing Infection- There are several important factors to keep an ulcer from becoming infected:
Keep blood glucose levels under tight control
Keep the ulcer clean and bandaged
Cleanse the wound daily, using a wound dressing or bandage
Do not walk barefoot
Ignoring signs of Diabetic Foot can lead to severe complications
Disclaimer: The information provided here should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. The information is provided solely for educational purpose and should not be considered a substitute for medical advice.
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