WHAT YOU CAN DO
Prevention is the best way to take care of your feet! Take care of your feet, look for signs of breakdown and act fast! If there are signs of breakdown, consult your physician and find the best treatment. If you already have break down and wounds on your feet, be aware of changes such as increased redness and increased drainage, as these may be signs of infection and your physician should be notified. Here are some quick tips to prevent breakdown:
- Check your feet every day
- Wear the proper shoes
- Wash your feet every day
- Keep skin soft & smooth
- Trim toenails when needed if you are able to
- Wear shoes & socks at all times
See this quick video for some more quicks tips for prevention of diabetic foot ulcers:
Daily foot care for diabetics should look like this:
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHECKING YOUR FEET
- Numbness or tingling sensation
- Skin discoloration
- Loss of feeling
- Blisters or other wounds without pain
- Painful tingling
This video shows some natural remedies for diabetic foot ulcers. There are no medical studies that prove that this remedy works. Before trying natural remedies, you should always consult your doctor. Videos like these are misleading to the public because it does not describe the wounds that this may work on. This video was also concerning because the main photo when you can select this video from youtube shows two feet soaking in a bowl of water. Soaking feet in water is not recommended for patients with diabetes.
This video was the most informational for the public. The video is from a medical professional who explains his credentials prior to explaining his recommendations of wound care and breaks down terms that may be harder to understand for people without a medical education. Dr Pelto not only explains the cause of diabetic wounds, but how he would go about treating and healing diabetic wounds that are medically supported.
This video was misleading because the title says “How to Cure a Diabetic Foot Ulcer.” This is a 2 minute video that briefly describes prevention of diabetic foot ulcers and then recommends two different treatments possible for foot ulcers before recommending the patient see a medical professional.
TREATMENT METHODS PROVEN BY MEDICAL STUDIES
The treatments for diabetic foot ulcers includes revascularization, management of infection with antibiotics, wound dressings and debridement, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, skin grafting and topical negative pressure therapies. Some of these words may sound like they come from another world. Revascularization? Debridement? Grafts? Lets break it down:
- Treatment depends on the degree of ulceration, or break down, of each of the wounds
- Healthcare professionals will look at the depth of the wound, the amount of blood flow to the affected area, and the amount of time the patient has had the wound
- At the beginning of the breakdown of skin, the treatment of choice may be topical creams and dressings to protect the wound and all allow the proper environment for healing. Skin substitutes have been proven to help reconstruct lost tissue and may be used as the first line of treatment
- Treatment could include pressure relief or debridement if necessary, which means that a physician would remove the damaged tissue from the wound
- If a wound is not healing properly and there is not proper blood flow to the wound or the wound is not being treated properly, it could result in other forms of treatment such as revascularization, skin grafting or the worst case scenario, amputation
OTHER RESOURCES
For further questions consult these resources or call your physician’s office
American Diabetes Association
Government Resources
REFERENCES
Gray, K., Game, F. & Pinnington, L. (2018). Encouraging reduction of activity amongst patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Wounds UK, 14(3). 34-39.
Leese, G. & Stang, D. (2011). Strategies for improving diabetic foot care: an example from Scotland. Diabetic Foot Journal, 14(4). 171-176
Tchero, H., Herlin, C., Bekara, F., Kangambega, P., Sergiu, F. & Teot, L. (2017). Failure rates of artificial dermis products in treatment of diabetic foot ulcer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Wound Repair and Regeneration,25(1). 691-696.
Young ,M. & Stang, D. (2018). Stay classy: the classification of diabetic foot ulcers and its relevance to management: part 1. Diabetic Foot Journal,21(1). 52-55.