What Are Diabetic Foot Ulcers? 

WHAT ARE DIABETIC FOOT ULCERS Jul,11,2022

Foot ulcers are one of the most common complications of diabetes and cannot be managed via methods like exercise, diet regulations, or insulin treatment. Ulcers can occur as a result of skin tissue breaking down and exposing the underneath layers. Diabetes ulcers can commonly occur under the big toes and can affect your feet down to the bones. 

Any person suffering from chronic diabetes can develop foot ulcers. The treatment to follow can vary with the cause of the foot ulcer. If you are diabetic, you need to discuss any foot concerns with a medical professional in an affordable health clinic in your area to make sure that it is not a serious issue. This is important because infected ulcers can lead to amputation if not taken care of properly. 

Symptoms And Diagnosis Of Foot Ulcers 

Drainage from your foot is one of the first signs of foot ulcers. Unusual odors, swelling, redness, and irritation are also some of the early symptoms. Black tissue surrounding the ulcer is the most visible sign of a foot ulcer. The tissue forms because of the absence of a healthy flow of blood to the area. Tissue death due to infections, or gangrene can appear around the area of the ulcer, and in such situations, pain, discharge, and numbness can occur. 

You need to visit low-income health clinics in your locality if you see skin discoloration, or feel any pain around the ulcer. 

Diabetic Foot Ulcer Causes 

There can be many reasons for foot ulcers in people with diabetes and some of the most common ones are poor circulation of blood, nerve damage, hyperglycemia, and wounded feet. Poor blood circulation is a vascular disease and it can make it more difficult for lesions and ulcers to heal. Also, high blood glucose levels can severely slow down the healing process. Therefore, it is important to manage blood glucose levels. Nerve damage, which is another cause of foot ulcers, can result in loss of feeling in the feet. Due to the reduced sensitivity to foot pain, wounds in the foot can be painless and can go easily unnoticed, which can cause ulcers. 

Foot ulcers can be identified by drainage from the area that is affected and sometimes, a noticeable lump that might not be painful. This type of ulcer is common in older men and so it is important for this group to ensure proper checkups from affordable health clinics.

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    About the Author

    Dr. Ghassan M. Al-Jazayrly, MD

    A graduate of University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Al-Jazayrly or, as he is colloquially known: Dr. AJ, is an oncologist and hematologist of a Complete Care Community Health Center (CCCHC) with more than 36 years of experience. In recent years, he’s been involved with a non profit organization known as Every Woman Counts (EWC) which provides free breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to California’s underserved populations in order to eliminate health disparities for low-income individuals.

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