Understanding Diabetes and Glycemic Index
Foot Complications Of Diabetes Whenever we think about people with diabetes, we often think of them as having problems with their feet. This is one of the most common complications of diabetes and diabetes, more than anyone, need to make certain that they address any problems with their feet early on as such problems can result in a life threatening condition.
Foot complications of diabetes are caused by neuropathy. Because the high glucose levels in the blood of a diabetic person affects the central nervous system after a period of time, it also affects nerves in various parts of your body. Most often effected are the nerves in the feet. The furthest from the brain, it is here where people with diabetes who have nerve damage, often do not feel cold or pain or even heat. People with diabetes that is uncontrolled often can injure their feet without feeling it. The injury may result in a blister or wound that will be slow to heal. The blister or wound becomes infected and the foot complications of diabetes begin.
In addition to not having the proper nerve sensations in their feet, people with diabetes often develop very dry feet because the nerves that secrete oil into the feet no longer work. Their feet may peel and crack, which only makes it even more probable for them to get sores and wounds in their feet.
Because high blood glucose levels make it difficult to stave off infection, a diabetic with a sore on their foot must be treated differently than a person without diabetes. The sore may be very slow to heal, if it heals at all. Infection often sets in. This can lead to gangrene and, in some cases, amputation.
Foot complications of diabetes work like this. A person who has diabetes and who has not been keeping their blood glucose level under control gets an injury on their toe. It begins to bleed and crack. Then bandage it, hoping it will heal. It does not heal and soon the wound becomes infected. They go to the doctor who begins to treat the wound with antibiotics. Sometimes this works, sometimes it does not.
When the wound does not heal and the infection begins to spread, gangrene can set in. Gangrene can kill a person, and the doctor knows this. So the person with diabetes has a choice, they can either lose their toe or their life. In most cases, they choose to lose the toe.
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