Why Foot Ulcers Pose Such a Serious Concern for Diabetics

Since November is National Diabetes Month, Dr. Thomas Rambacher and the team here at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County want to shine the spotlight on a very serious health concern — diabetic ulcers that develop on your feet, ankles, or lower legs.

And if you think this is some remote threat, think again — there are more than 38 million Americans who have diabetes and about 1.6 million Americans are affected by diabetic ulcers each year.

As specialists in diabetic foot care and wound healing, we understand just how real this threat is and we want to share a little bit about why this is such a common complication among people with diabetes.

Nerve damage and foot ulcers

If you’re reading this, you likely know a bit about diabetes, but we’re going to review a few basics to set the stage for why people with diabetes are prone to foot ulcers.

At the core of diabetes is a lack of insulin and/or insulin resistance, which leads to high blood sugar levels. If there’s too much glucose in your bloodstream, these extra sugars can lead to peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage, which tends to strike your lower limbs more often than not.

This diabetes complication is prevalent — about half of people with diabetes develop peripheral neuropathy. And this nerve damage can pave the road forward to ulcers if you’ve lost sensation in your feet, ankles, or lower legs.

To illustrate this chain of events, let’s look at a simple blister that forms because of friction. If you have peripheral neuropathy, you may not realize that a blister formed since you’ve lost sensation in your feet. If the blister goes unprotected and untreated, it can turn into a larger wound and, by the time you notice there’s an issue, a full-blown diabetic ulcer has formed.

Circulation issues and diabetic ulcers

Another common side effect of diabetes are circulatory issues, such as peripheral artery disease (PAD). If blood isn’t flowing well, into and out of your legs, your access to healing resources and your ability to fight off infection become compromised.

This explains why 50% to 60% of diabetic ulcers develop infection — poor circulation stalls the wound healing, which allows time for harmful bacteria to invade the wound and create an infection.

So, now your body needs to address two concerns — healing a wound and fighting off infection — and it can’t access enough of the necessary resources to do either.

As a result, about 20% of moderate to severe infections lead to amputation as the infection spreads and gangrene sets in.

So, between the nerve damage, the compromised circulation, and the high blood sugar levels, people with diabetes are far more prone to slow-healing ulcers than people who don’t have the chronic disease.

Still, this outcome isn’t an inevitability, especially if you practice vigilance and take steps to prevent diabetic foot ulcers. And we’re happy to help guide you on best practices for avoiding these wounds. To learn more, please contact our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or request an appointment online today.