Endocrinology >>>> Signs of a diabetic foot and factors of its occurrence

Signs of a diabetic foot and factors of its occurrence.

Disorders of metabolic processes in tissues in diabetes mellitus can lead to changes in the tissues of the foot and ulcers, necrosis and gangrene. The diabetic foot develops fifteen to twenty years after the onset of the disease "diabetes mellitus" and refers to the complications of this disease. One of the main factors provoking damage to the tissues of the foot is angiopathy of the vessels responsible for the blood supply to the extremities.

Signs of the development of a diabetic foot make themselves felt by pain symptoms in the area of the foot, causing difficulty in walking. The skin in the area of the foot begins to peel off, crack, there are foci of hyperpigmentation, the sensitivity of individual parts of the foot is impaired. The slightest trauma (abrasion, abrasion, bruise) contributes to the development of trophic ulcers in the foot area, to which a bacterial infection (including anaerobic infection joins). Not only the epidermis is affected, but also the subcutaneous fat layer, muscle tissue. The process can deepen and affect bone tissue, causing its destruction, which is often accompanied by cracks or fractures. As a result of a violation of the reparative processes accompanying diabetes mellitus, prolonged non-healing of wounds leads to necrosis and contributes to the development of gangrene of the lower extremity.

Almost everyone suffering from diabetes mellitus is at risk of forming a diabetic foot, but especially often the disease begins to progress in people suffering from atherosclerotic vascular changes, arterial hypertension, alcoholism, peripheral polyneuropathy, and hyperlipidemia.

Other provoking factors in the development of a diabetic foot are fungal infections of the lower extremities, an ingrown toenail, calluses, and cracked heels.

Improperly selected footwear that causes chronic foot injury and poor foot hygiene play an important role in the development of a diabetic foot.

Treatment of diabetic foot requires drug therapy (insulin therapy, antibiotic therapy), treatment of wounds and timely excision of necrotic tissue, diet. Surgical treatment of diabetic foot includes procedures for endovascular dilation, stenting of peripheral vessels of the limb. To close extensive tissue defects, autodermoplasty is performed (sewing on a skin flap). Amputation of the foot (part of the limb) is carried out to prevent the spread of the purulent - necrotic process upward. The prognosis for diabetic foot depends on the rate of spread of tissue necrosis and the timeliness of the treatment started.