TIPS FOR DIABETIC WOUND PREVENTION
Diabetic people are faced with different complications, one of them being the high risks of being infected with diabetic foot ulcers. This is because chronic metabolic diseases causes’ damage on nerves hence weakening the immune system, factors which hinder body healing process. Failure to take care of the wounds exposes the victims to the risk of amputation since gangrenous limbs must be removed to prevent the necrosis from spreading out to the other body parts. People with diabetes should therefore take great care of their feet (Apelqvist, Bakker, Houtum & Schaper, 2012).
Ensuring thorough check of the feet on daily basis is the first step. This can be achieved by setting aside specific time whereby inspection to identify blisters, red spots, cuts, calluses, swellings and other abnormalities. A mirror would be of much help in checking below the feet for the diabetic foot ulcers. However, if it’s still a challenge to scrutinize all the parts a friend can help. In addition to these personal initiatives, ensuring a podiatrist check on the feet at least thrice a year is advisable (Lavery, Higgins, Lanctot, Constantinides, Zamorano, Athanasiou & Agrawal, 2017).
To defend the feet against infected wounds, they should be washed on daily basis using a mild soap in tepid water (hot water is not advisable as it can cause blisters and scalds). After a thorough wash on the feet, they should be dried completely. Although many people use talcum powder to keep their feet dry, practitioners advises on the use of lotion as the best option for diabetics which has the ability of keeping the skin pliable and smooth to avoid fissures. The lotion should not be run between the toes as this creates a favorable moist environment to encourage bacteria breeding (Pierce, 2011).
References
Apelqvist, J., Bakker, K., Van Houtum, W. H., & Schaper, N. C. (2012). Practical guidelines on the management and prevention of the diabetic foot: based upon the International Consensus on the Diabetic Foot (2007) Prepared by the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot. Diabetes/Metabolism research and reviews, 24(S1 1), S181-S187.
Lavery, L. A., Higgins, K. R., Lanctot, D. R., Constantinides, G. P., Zamorano, R. G., Athanasiou, K. A., … & Agrawal, C. M. (2017). Preventing diabetic foot ulcer recurrence in high-risk patients: use of temperature monitoring as a self-assessment tool. Diabetes care, 30(1), 14-20.
Pierce, G. F. (2011). Inflammation in nonhealing diabetic wounds: the space-time continuum does matter. The American journal of pathology, 159(2), 399.