If you’re diabetic, your doctor has likely warned you about your slow healing process. A small cut may take a while to heal, and because your healing time is longer, you’re more likely to have problems. To make sure people with diabetes are taking care of any cut, scratch, or wound, this information should help.
Why is the healing process so slow?
Diabetes interrupts the body’s ability to metabolize glucose, which means high blood sugar can happen easily – and this interferes with your body’s healing process.
What’s the biggest problem area?
Doctors say feet should be a diabetic’s biggest concern. A cut on the foot is hard to notice and hard to treat. Plus, it’s hard not to agitate wounds on the foot because every step taken applies pressure to it. As a result, wounds on the feet take a long time to heal.
How bad can a wound become?
When taken care of, wounds can heal. However, wounds that aren’t healing need to be brought to a doctor’s attention.
Again, wounds on the bottom of the feet are most problematic. A cut on the bottom of a foot that’s left untreated can quickly develop into a foot ulcer. Research shows between 14-24% of people with a foot ulcer end up having their foot amputated.
How should a wound be cared for?
It’s important to create a self-care routine for wounds. Diabetics should:
- Do regular body checks to look for scratches
- See a doctor if the wound isn’t healing or if dead tissue needs to be removed
- Change the bandages frequently to reduce chances of bacterial growth
- Keep pressure off the area
