Foot infections are another important concern for people with diabetes. Diabetes-related nerve damage can reduce feeling in the feet, making it difficult to detect a foot injury. Diabetes can also impair blood circulation and wound healing by narrowing the arteries that carry blood to the legs. This combination is extremely serious, because a wound on your foot or leg that doesn't heal can turn into an ulcer (deep sore) that quickly becomes infected.

Amputation is often necessary. In fact, one fifth of all hospitalizations in people with diabetes are for foot infections, with some resulting in lower-limb amputations each year.

Blood glucose control, quitting smoking, and proper foot care can greatly reduce these risks. That's why everyone with diabetes, and especially those with neuropathy or poor circulation, should follow a routine of inspecting each foot and lower leg every day and carefully treating and monitoring even the most trivial blister, cut, or abrasion. Any injured areas should be washed with warm water and soap, cleaned with a mild antiseptic, and covered with a dry, sterile dressing and paper tape.

If you do develop a foot or leg ulcer, call your doctor immediately. Because people with diabetes often have poor blood circulation, ulcers can become infected rapidly. Although treatment with antibiotics is needed, it's not enough to cure these serious infections.



Last updated on May 1, 2010 by Emma Hoult