Why Wound Care Is So Important when You're a Diabetic

Your circulatory system is the workhorse of your body, providing oxygen and other nutrients to all its tissues, as well as removing waste products. Damage to any part of this vast network of organs, arteries, and veins can have wide-reaching effects.

At Heart Vascular & Leg Center in Bakersfield, California, our team of vascular and wound care experts understands that diabetes and vascular disease increase your risk of leg ulcers and foot ulcers. That’s why we offer foot care services to our patients. Here’s what you need to know about wound care if you’re a diabetic.

Understanding diabetes

To understand diabetes’ impact on vascular health, you need to know something about the disease itself. Diabetes takes many forms, but the two primary ones are:

1. Type 1 diabetes

This form is an autoimmune condition, meaning the body mistakenly attacks parts of itself. In this case, it attacks the beta cells in the pancreas, destroying their ability to produce the hormone insulin. 

Since this form is usually diagnosed in children, it was once called “juvenile diabetes;” however, it can actually develop at any age. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin every day to convert their food into energy, making them “insulin-dependent.”

2. Type 2 diabetes

Up to 95% of diabetics have the type 2 form. It’s a condition where the pancreas either can’t produce enough insulin for the body’s needs, or the cells don’t respond to the hormone’s signal, so the sugar remains in the blood. 

Type 2 used to be seen primarily in middle-aged and older adults, but now “insulin-resistant diabetes” is becoming more common in younger populations. This has to do with lifestyle factors. Children are becoming increasingly sedentary and overweight, and they’re eating an unhealthy diet, all of which increase their risk of developing the condition. 

Consistently high sugar levels often damage fibers in the peripheral nervous system, leading to diabetic neuropathy, the loss of sensation in your lower limbs and feet. Without the ability to feel a cut or even a bump, you can develop slow-healing open wounds — foot and leg ulcers — that can easily become infected. More than 80% of diabetic lower-limb amputations start with an infected foot or leg ulcer.

How diabetes impacts vascular health

In addition to damaging nerves, diabetes also damages your circulatory system. High sugar levels irritate and roughen the inner linings of your arteries, which allows the buildup of plaque, a mixture of fats, proteins, calcium, and cellular debris. When plaque hardens, it narrows the diameter of the conduit. 

This makes your heart pump harder to move the blood and nourish the tissues, increasing blood pressure and potentially further damaging the arteries. The heart isn’t always successful in overcoming this obstacle, and blood flow decreases to the legs and feet, starving the tissues.

This condition is known as atherosclerosis or colloquially as “hardening of the arteries.” When the narrowing and decreased blood flow affects the legs and feet, it’s referred to as peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Untreated PAD can lead to heart attacks, stroke, ulcers, tissue death, and amputation. On the flip side, though, high blood sugar increases PAD’s effects, making it harder to treat; it becomes a Catch-22.

Wound care treatment

If you have diabetes, the best thing you can do to protect your vascular health is to manage your blood sugar levels, and the second-best thing is to embrace diabetic foot care.

If you’ve developed foot or leg ulcers, the treatment we provide at Heart Vascular & Leg Center depends on the severity of your symptoms and the effect they have on your quality of life. Whenever possible, we use conservative, minimally invasive treatments, with the intent of relieving pain, preventing infection, and stopping the wound from growing larger.

If you have a mild or moderate leg ulcer, we might drain the wound and prescribe antibiotics. Other options include wearing compression bandages and undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

 If you have a severe ulcer, custom orthotics or braces might help. These medical devices take the pressure off the wound, making it easier to walk. Together with prescription pentoxifylline, a medication that improves circulation throughout your legs and feet, they can give the ulcer time to heal and prevent a recurrence.

If you’re a diabetic and have developed foot or leg wounds as a result, it’s time to come into Heart Vascular & Leg Center for an evaluation and effective care. Give our office a call at 661-230-9659 to schedule a consultation with one of our specialists, or book online with us today.