Another Health talk from China Medical team Solomon Islands
DIABETES is a worldwide disease with a very high prevalence, especially in Solomon Islands. Diabetes is a condition where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or use insulin properly, causing sugar levels in the blood to rise above normal. Uncontrolled high blood sugar can reduce blood flow in your feet, leading to serious complications.
Diabetic foot is a condition of infection, ulcer formation or deep tissue damage in the lower limbs due to diabetic neuropathy and vasculopathy. With the loss of sensation, deformities and vascular lesions in the foot, this condition causes ischemia in the foot and loss of vitality in the local tissues, which can easily lead to serious injury, ulceration, gangrene and infection, and eventually even amputation.
Patients who have had diabetes for more than 5 years, or have had poor blood sugar control, are prone to serious complications such as infection, ulceration and gangrene in their feet, and it is the main cause of disability in diabetic patients with lower limb amputations. Diabetic foot ulcer formation is the most common complication of diabetes.
Each year more than 50% of non-traumatic amputations are in diabetic patients. In the early stages of diabetic feet, purplish red limbs, low skin temperature, diminished or absent pulsation of the dorsal artery of the foot, intermittent limp, cramps and pain in the lower leg, or pain that worsens with walking are presenting. When sores appear, they might not heal as easily.
Who is prone to diabetic foot?
1. Patients with a history of diabetes for more than 10 years.
2. Patients with diabetes who do not monitor their blood sugar for long.
3. Patients with diabetes who have developed into diabetic nephropathy or diabetic retinopathy.
4. Patients with diabetes often wear shoes with hard soles or squeezed feet.
5. Patients with diabetes who do not pay attention to foot hygiene and often like to trim their toenails.
6. Patients with diabetes who have a long history of smoking.
7. Elderly patients with diabetes live alone and have no one to care for them.
8. Patients with diabetes who are living in countries and regions where it is cold have to cover their feet with hot water bags or other warmers in winter.
In the next issue, I will share with you some tips on how to prevent diabetic foot. Stay tuned!
-Photo & article :China Medical team NRH
（Translated by HUANG BAILIN, International Office, Guizhou Medical University）
