People with diabetes often have gangrene of the foot and lower extremities due to foot infections, known as diabetic feet. Diabetic feet generally present as numbness in the feet, accompanied by symptoms such as dullness, chills, and pain, and the treatment is more complex and difficult, and in severe cases, even amputation is required. Therefore, diabetic foot is a terrible complication of diabetes, especially in the winter to prevent.
1. How does diabetic foot occur?
(1) Poor blood sugar control
Hyperglycemia is often accompanied by hyperlipidemia, due to abnormalities in blood glucose and lipids and the protein non-enzymatic glycosylation products it produces, which can promote the formation of large and middle atherosclerosis, resulting in luminal obstruction problems, in the very cold weather in winter, will make vasospasm performance worse, resulting in insufficient blood supply, ulcers, it is difficult to heal.
(2) Foot injury
Many diabetic patients have different forms of tissue injury problems, such as: a. burns; b. abrasions; c. scratches; d. pedicures, injuries are infected after formation, becoming a key risk factor for diabetic feet, if there are tiny skin wounds on the feet, it is easy to form infections, and serious ones become refractory ulcers, if the treatment or care is improper, the intervention is not timely, and even limb gangrene leads to amputation.
2 How to prevent winter
In winter, it is more critical for diabetics to properly carry out self-care or management, which can well prevent diabetic foot.
(1) Control blood sugar
Only by maintaining the blood glucose index within the normal range can the emergence and development of diabetic feet be prevented from the source. Methods of adjusting or controlling blood sugar include: a. rationalize the diet; b. appropriate exercise. If blood glucose is not well controlled, consult a specialist for pharmacological intervention.
(2) Avoid foot injuries
Be careful not to burn your feet with hot water, wash your feet every day with warm water and non-irritating soap, soak them for about five minutes, and dry them with a towel. Maintain the water temperature at about 40 ° C, you can touch with your hands and feel less hot. If the feet are dry, you can apply some skin care products to prevent the skin from dry cracking. The toenails should be trimmed in time, and if it is callosum (calluses), it should not be trimmed casually, and it may be cut to cause skin damage. If possible, you can wear a special shoe for treatment, the fabric is a special material of elastic material, not only soft, the bottom is also thick, can disperse the pressure on the soles of the feet, reduce the production of callosum. In addition, choose wide, breathable shoes and socks. Take care to avoid burns or frostbite on the feet.
In addition, it is also necessary to quit smoking, because smoking will make small blood vessels spasm, aggravate ischemia and hypoxia of the lower limbs, and then aggravate diabetic foot conditions.
Contributed by: Wu Zhen, Department of Endocrinology, Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province
Editor: Liu Yuchen
Image: From the Internet, intrusion and deletion