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Diabetic foot is a serious complication of diabetes, it affects from a few to a dozen or so percent of patients. Its proper treatment can prevent amputation. It is long and costly, but effective. What are the causes of the appearance of a diabetic foot and how to recognize it? How is the diabetic foot treated?

Diabetic foot( Diabetic foot syndrome ) is one of the most common complications of diabetes. The disease is characterized by insufficient blood supply to the feet, which reduces their pain sensitivity, hinders the healing of wounds and ulcers, which are indicative of a progressive necrotic process. The structure of bones and joints is weakened, as a result of which the foot deforms, making it impossible to walk.

The problem is more common in patients with type 2 diabetes, i.e. non-insulin dependent diabetes, and affects up to 10 percent of all diabetics. As a rule, it appears after many years of poorly treated diabetes, although often changes in the feet are the first noticeable symptom of this disease. Untreateddiabetic footleads to limb amputation.

Diabetic foot: causes

Too high blood sugar levels, with simultaneous long-term neglect of proper therapy, causes serious changes in the walls of large (so-called macroangiopathy) and small (microangiopathy) blood vessels. These changes contribute to their permanent damage and, consequently, to increased susceptibility to diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Damage to small blood vessels leads to changes in the lens of the eye (retinopathy), impaired kidney function (nephropathy) or the nervous system manifested by impaired sensation, numbness and pain in the limbs. The result of damage to large vessels is coronary artery disease, ischemic disease of the central nervous system, and one of the most common complications of diabetes, i.e. the diabetic foot syndrome.

Diabetic foot: two types of the disease

The syndromediabetic footcomes in two varieties:

  • Ischemic foot syndrome, which occurs as a result of deterioration of blood supply to the foot.
  • Neuropathic foot syndrome, the cause of which is damage to the peripheral vascular system.

Diabetic foot: symptoms

Symptoms of the diabetic footare:

  • pain intensifying at night, with the accompanying onespainful muscle spasms, tingling and pricking sensations in the leg
  • peeling and drying of the skin
  • the appearance of numerous cracks with foci of necrosis and ulceration
  • worse wound healing
  • disturbances in pain, temperature and touch
  • bone deformation.

The key element of the prevention and treatment of the disease is special care for the he alth and good condition of the feet, and above all - consistently conducted therapy aimed at lowering blood sugar levels.

Diabetic foot treatment

Treatmentof the diabetic footis difficult, long and costly. They should be carried out in specialized centers, under the supervision of specialists: diabetologist, vascular surgeon, orthopedist, rehabilitator, dermatologist. The patient should wear properly selected orthopedic insoles or footwear, professionally removed corns and calluses, in the case of predominant vascular lesions, he should be qualified for specialist vascular procedures.

In the treatment of advanced casesdiabetic footthere are many methods of topical treatment of ulcers and wounds. These are preparations containing silver, oxygen hiberbaric chambers, and vacuum dressings. The multiplicity of methods indicates the healing difficulties and the lack of ideal wound healing preparations.

See the stages in the formation of a diabetic foot

See gallery 4 photosWorth knowing

Diabetic foot - in Poland there is the most amputation of limbs. 15 thousand annually

According to the Polish Diabetes Association, Poland is in the forefront of countries where the most limb amputations are performed due todiabetic foot- approx. 15 thousand annually. In Poland, it is more profitable to perform amputations, because their cost is higher than conservative treatmentdiabetic foot .

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Diabetes