Advanced Wound Healing Institute

Signs of Impending Diabetic Foot

If you have diabetes, it’s best to take extra care of your feet. Diabetics are prone to foot problems due to prolonged increase blood glucose levels. This increased level can cause diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease, two serous conditions that can lead diabetic feet. 

In a nutshell, peripheral vascular disease is a condition where your blood vessels get narrow or blocked. This blockade can cause your nerves not function properly causing numbness on your extremities hence causing diabetic neuropathy.

Below are signs to look for of impending diabetic foot. If you notice any of these signs on your feet, see a podiatrist/foot doctor immediately.

• Change in skin temperature and color.

• Swelling of the foot and ankle.

• Numbness or tingling sensation on your feet.

• Open sores that take too long to heal or don’t heal.

• Constant Foot odor.

• Leg pain.

Complications:

Skin infection. Due to nerve and blood vessel damage, small cuts can lead to serous infections if left untreated.

Abscess. In some cases, these superficial infections can go deep into muscle and tissue creating pockets of pus called an abscess. These types of infections are typically treated by draining the pus and debridement of the dead tissue.

Gangrene. This happens when blocked blood vessels no longer supply adequate oxygen to tissues on the foot causing tissue death. 

Foot Deformities. Since you can no longer feel your feet, you no longer feel if your shoes are too tight or loose, or you no longer notice if you are positioning your feet correctly causing all sorts of foot deformities like bunions, hammer toes and claw feet. The combination of trauma and bone disintegration can deform the shape of the foot, a condition called Charcot arthropathy. 

If you have diabetes, it is recommended to regularly see a podiatrist once or twice a year; whether or not you think you have a foot problem. A comprehensive foot examination will determine the risk factors that may result in foot ulcers or worse, consequent foot amputation.

If you develop a foot wound, have it checked immediately. Call your podiatrist to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.

For more information on diabetic foot ulcers, you may contact Advanced Wound Healing Institute at (239) 430-3668 (FOOT). Advanced Wound Healing Institute is part of Family Foot and Leg Center, P.A.