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Wound center offers tips for people with diabetes
From Staff Reports
An average of 235 amputations a day are performed in the United States on patients with diabetes
Each year one in 20 people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer that may result in chronic non-healing wounds and, in extreme cases, lead to amputation.
“Most people with diabetes know the importance of checking blood sugar levels, while the importance of daily foot exams is underemphasized even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that comprehensive foot care programs can reduce diabetes-related amputation rates by 45 to 85 percent,” says Katherine J. Rowland, chief clinical officer for National Healing Corporation, whose Wound Healing Centers around the nation treat many patients who have difficulty healing due to complications from diabetes.
*Don’t count on foot pain to alert you to problems since diabetes can cause changes in the skin on the feet as well as nerve damage, which can impair sensation of feeling. Visually inspect your feet and between your toes for blisters, cuts, red spots and swelling.
*Avoid crossing your legs: this can cause pressure on the nerves and blood vessels, possibly causing damage.
*Sit with your feet up to keep the blood flowing to them. Two or three times a day, wiggle your toes and move your ankles up and down for five minutes.
*Your feet contain a million sweat glands. Always wear properly fitting socks made of cotton and wool, and change your socks and shoes twice a day.
*Don’t go barefoot. Feel inside your shoes before putting them on to make sure they don’t have tears in the lining or foreign objects that could cause excessive rubbing.
*Cut toenails straight across and don't trim them too short. Use an emery board to smooth corners of toenails or ingrown nails.
*While Medicare and many health insurance plans will reimburse a portion or all of the cost of shoes and custom inserts prescribed by a doctor, don’t buy more than one insert at a time in case the size or shape of your foot changes. Take your prescription to a reputable orthotist.
*Don’t pull loose pieces of skin off your feet. See a health care professional to have them removed.
*Seek medical treatment if a leg or foot wound has not healed in 30 days or shows signs of infection such as increased pain, redness or swelling, foul wound odor or a change in color or amount of drainage from the wound.
The Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center is a participating center in National Healing Corporation’s Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization’s Disease-Specific Certified Wound Care Program.
For information about diabetes management and treating and preventing chronic wounds, contact the Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center located on the campus of Dallas Regional Medical Center, 901 N. Galloway Ave, Suite 101 or call 214-660-2580.
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