#常德头条 ##常德市第四人民医院#
Diabetic foot is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus and one of the important causes of disability and even death in diabetic patients. Experts from the Fourth People's Hospital of Changde City have compiled 10 tips for home self-care for diabetic foot patients, please watch the following carefully for patients in need:
1. Daily foot examination
Diabetic foot care is a daily routine, every day before going to bed, the patient must check the foot to see if there is any damage, if necessary, use a small mirror to carefully check. If the patient lives alone, prepare a mirror and check it every day, including the instep, soles, and feet.
At the same time, carefully observe the color, temperature, and humidity of the skin, and check whether there is edema, pain, and blood vessel pulsation, feeling, movement, and reflexes. Once blisters, breakages, infections, etc., be sure to see a specialist to buy time for diabetic foot treatment.
2. Insist on washing your feet with warm water
Diabetic foot patients should wash their feet daily. Check whether there is any damage between the feet and toes before washing the feet, and use about 37°C when washing the feet, which is conducive to blood circulation and avoids burns caused by too high temperature. The foot washing time should not be too long, 10~20 minutes is appropriate.
After washing your feet, gently dry them with a soft, absorbent towel, including the gap between your toes, and be careful not to use too much force, because if the towel is hard and rough or the force is too heavy, it may cause undetectable trauma to the skin of the feet. It is best to use a white towel to wipe your feet so that you can find out if there is blood or pus.
3. Trim your toenails regularly
Because the toenail is too long and can easily break and injure the tissues around the toenail, regular toenail trimming is one of the basic skills for diabetic foot patients to take care of themselves at home. Patients with poor vision or finger function are advised not to cut their own tips because they have poor sensation at the end of their feet and they can't even perceive their toes when they cut their toes.
At this time, it is best to have a family member to do it for you, and the toenail should be cut straight, not obliquely, so as not to hurt the nail groove. Don't cut the toenail too short, not too close to the skin, generally cut to the same level as the tip of the toe. After cutting the toenails, be sure to gently smooth and polish them to avoid the feet being bruised by the sharp toenails.
4. Choose breathable shoes and socks
A proper pair of shoes is very necessary for diabetic foot sufferers. It is recommended that patients do not wear sandals or slippers that expose the skin of the feet, because the skin is exposed and easily damaged.
Also do not wear tight shoes or high heels to avoid burdening your feet. It is advisable to use decompression shoes designed for diabetic foot sufferers. Carefully inspect your shoes for foreign objects before putting them on.
5. Avoid walking barefoot
Diabetic foot patients should wear cloth slippers even in the kitchen or bathroom at home, because the nerves in the patient's feet are not sensitive, and they often step on hard objects on their feet to cause wounds without realizing it. In addition, even if you wear comfortable and well-fitting shoes, you should not walk for long periods of time, as walking for long periods of time can cause calluses on your feet, which are often a precursor to the development of foot ulcers.
6. Use heating equipment with caution
Because of long-term hyperglycemia, diabetic patients will have different degrees of diabetic neuropathy with the prolongation of the course of the disease, so that diabetic patients are not sensitive to the pain caused by external injuries or high temperatures, so they do not feel it when the high temperature burns their feet.
If it is not detected and treated in time, it can lead to diabetic foot infection due to bacterial and viral invasion. In addition, diabetic patients have low immunity, and the glycogen content of skin tissue is higher than that of ordinary people, so they are more susceptible to bacterial infections than ordinary people.
Diabetic patients should never use scissors or unclean tools to shave off the burned tissues or blisters in case of foot burns or back injuries. Improper disinfection can exacerbate infection, and improper treatment can lead to bone infection, which can lead to amputation and, in more severe cases, life-threatening. Patients should seek medical help or treatment from an ostomy wound therapist as soon as possible, and should not ignore or delay treatment.
7. Keep your skin lubricated
Diabetic patients have reduced sweating due to autonomic neuropathy, dry skin on the feet, especially the heels, which can further form ulcers and secondary infection. Every day, the patient should moisturize their feet with a grease lubricant and massage the skin gently and thoroughly.
8. Actively control blood sugar
The daily diet should be calculated based on the patient's height, weight, and activity level to achieve a balance between caloric intake and energy expenditure, and to guide the patient to eat regularly. In principle, the amount of food should be eaten regularly and quantitatively, and the amount of food in the morning, noon and evening should be divided by 1/3, and full meals should be avoided.
Diabetic foot patients should increase calories by 10%~20% due to large consumption of infection. In addition, the diet should be varied in combination with the patient's eating habits. Monitoring blood glucose, adjusting the dose of insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs according to changes in blood glucose, and keeping blood sugar close to normal will help the recovery of foot wounds.
9. Moderate exercise
Diabetic foot patients should do calf and foot exercises in bed for 30~60min every day, such as usually elevating the affected limb to facilitate blood return and improve blood circulation in the lower limbs.
10. Positive psychological adjustment
Diabetic patients often have low self-esteem due to foot infection or gangrene, accompanied by foul odor; Some patients suffer from anxiety due to a long hospital stay, which makes diabetic foot treatment and care more difficult. Nursing staff and family members should comfort and encourage the patient, and provide timely guidance to stabilize the patient's mentality and cooperate with the treatment.
Reminder:
The occurrence of diabetic foot is closely related to hyperglycemia, vascular damage, infection, physical damage, and metabolic factors. Therefore, diabetic patients need to strictly control blood sugar, strengthen foot care, and avoid infection and injury to prevent the occurrence of diabetic foot. If you have any concerns or symptoms worsen, seek medical attention.
Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Lu Nannan, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Department of Endocrinology, Fourth People's Hospital of Changde City
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(Edited YT.) Image source network, invaded and deleted)