26/09/2022
What Is a Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU)
A diabetic foot ulcer is an open sore or wound that will not go or keeps returning.
It occurs in approximately 15% of patients with diabetes, - specifically, a complication called neuropathy that causes you to lose feeling in your feet.
NB: Nigeria bears the greatest burden of diabetes prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ucers can lead to infections. Sometimes, the infection won’t go away and you may need to have part of your foot or toe surgically removed (amputated). About 15% of people with diabetes will get a foot or toe ulcer. Around 14% to 24% of people with diabetes. need an amputation after they get an ulcer.
Foot and toe ulcers vary in color. The most common colors are: Yellow, Pink, Red, Grey or Black.
If your ulcer is black or dark green, that means cells in the tissues have died. This is called necrosis GANGRENE.
DFU start as small as 1 centimeter wide and can grow to the size of your entire foot if left untreated. The depth of the ulcer can change, too.
Diabetic Foot Ulcer is Classified into Six (6) grades
👉 Grade 0: Your skin is intact (undamaged).
👉 Grade 1: The ulcer is “superficial,” which means that the skin is broken but the wound is shallow (in the upper layers of the skin).
👉 Grade 2: The ulcer is a “deep” wound.
👉 Grade 3: Part of the bone in your foot is visible.
👉 Grade 4: The forefront of your foot (the section closest to your toes) has gangrene (necrosis).
👉Grade 5: The entire foot has gangrene.
SYMPTOMS
One of the first signs of a foot ulcer is drainage from your foot .
Unusual swelling, irritation, redness, and odors from one or both feet are also common early symptoms.
The most visible sign of a serious foot ulcer is black tissue called eschar surrounding the ulcer. This forms because of an absence of healthy blood flow to the area around the ulcer.
Partial or complete gangrene which refers to tissue death due to infections, can appear around the ulcer. In this case, odorous discharge, pain, and numbness can occur.
Signs of foot ulcers are not always obvious. Sometimes, you won’t even show symptoms of ulcers until the ulcer has become infected.
Talk with your doctor if you begin to see any skin discoloration, especially tissue that has turned black, or feel any pain or pressure around an area that appears callused or irritated.
From my experience, heat under your foot (even without an ulcer) is s symptom of diabetic ulcer
TREATMENT
Depending you the grade of the DFU, you may be placed on antibiotics. More than 80% of the time, the wound heal and can get worse
Stay off your feet to prevent pain from ulcers. This is called off-loading, and it’s helpful for all forms of diabetic foot ulcers. Pressure from walking can make an infection worse and an ulcer expand.
Doctors can remove foot ulcers with a debridement, the removal of dead skin or foreign objects that may have caused the ulcer.
If no other treatment option helps, your doctor may recommend, surgery . This is necessary to prevent your ulcer from becoming worse
The last option is usually AMPUTATION., Doctors usually recommend this option when there is gangrene in the ulcer. This is a measure meant to prevent the gangrene fro spreading to other parts of your body
Please know that the best treatment for diabetic foot Ulcer is PREVENTION. Lifestyle change can be very key to managing diabetes, followed by proper diet.
Use of supplements have also helped a lot of people in the treatment of Diabetes and Diabetic Foot Ulcer. I can recommend some of the products I have given to some of my client.
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