Every year, November 14th is ‘World Diabetes Day’, established to raise awareness about diabetes and eradicate it. There is a saying that the reason diabetes is scary is because of its complications. Diabetic feet, a representative complication of diabetes, require special attention during the winter. This is because when the temperature drops sharply, blood flow to the feet decreases, making it easier for ulcers to develop.
Diabetes is a disease in which blood sugar levels rise abnormally when glucose in the blood cannot be used as an energy source. If initial management is poor or the disease duration is prolonged, the likelihood of developing diabetes complications increases.
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Among them, diabetic foot disease, also called diabetic foot, refers to all problems that occur in the feet of people with diabetes. It is a serious complication that can lead to limb amputation. It is often accompanied by neuropathy, which causes abnormalities in the sensory, motor, and autonomic nerves.
Therefore, even if a wound occurs because you cannot feel pain or changes in the foot, it is discovered late, which can lead to worsening of the lesion, inflammation due to bacterial infection, and even tissue necrosis.
When the weather is cold like now, the risk of diabetic foot is likely to increase because blood circulation is not smooth. In addition, the number of cases of wounds or burns increases due to numbness, so caution is needed.
Meanwhile, the severity of symptoms of these diabetes complications may vary depending on the patient’s careful management. Therefore, if you are diagnosed with diabetes, you must immediately control and manage your blood sugar. You should prevent problems that can cause foot ulcers in advance, such as taking care to prevent injuries to your feet, and being careful of shoes that do not fit well, calluses on the soles of the feet due to extreme exercise, foot deformity, and athlete’s foot.
Additionally, in order to reduce cardiovascular complications, it is helpful to control blood sugar levels, check for high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, obesity, etc., and undergo regular checkups to determine the degree of cardiovascular risk factors and complications. In addition to this, improvement of lifestyle habits through daily diet and exercise therapy and consistent treatment should be combined.
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2023-11-13 19:00:00
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