In the blood of
diabetics, glucose is found in abundance. Excess of glucose causes poor blood
flow and nerve damage that lead to serious foot-related complications. If these
complications are not treated before it is too late, these complications lead
to serious and damaging diseases. However, instead of going for the symptomatic
treatment, there should be genuine effort to control diabetes—the real culprit for
triggering foot-related diseases.
How does Nerve Damage Affect Feet?
The most worrying impact of damaged nerves is cessation or very
slow signals or signals at wrong times to the feet. That results into loose
feeling in feet. The feelings of cold, heat, pain, etc. get stopped. Whether it
is a blister caused due to poorly fitting shoes or a pebble inside the sock
that may cause sore, these all get unnoticed. As the sores of the feet get
unnoticed, they are left uncared, untreated. Gradually, they become
infected.The presence of extra glucose in the blood feeds the infection and
therefore it starts getting worse day by day.
Prevention of Infection
Timely medical intervention can prevent the infection to take the
form of gangrene (it is a condition that is characterised by the death of
tissues because of lack of blood). In this case, doctor generally cuts away the
infected tissues or prescribes antibiotics. The doctor may also perform some
tests to ascertain as to whether the feet are getting adequate blood or not.
Sometimes, clearing the blocked blood vessels may also improve the flow of
blood and solve the problem.
The Risk Associated with the
Treatment of Infection: The solution of the
problem of infection lies in timely treatment. If treatment is not done before
it is too late, amputation may become the need of the hour. Amputation is a
surgery that is performed in order to chop off an organ of leg—toe, ankle,
knee, etc. or the entire leg to prevent the infection to spread to other parts
of the body.
How does Poor Blood Flow Affect
Feet?
It is important here
to know that it is the circulation system of the body that is responsible for
sending nutrients, blood and oxygen to the entire body parts. When blood flow
to specific body part gets reduced due to excess presence of glucose in the
case of diabetics, symptoms of poor circulation starts becoming prominent.
These symptoms are most common in the body parts that are far from heart, such
as legs and arms as it is heart that pumps blood to the organs and
tissues of the entire body. Hence, farther an organ is from heart;
greater it experiences the symptoms of poor circulation.
Ill effect of Poor Blood Circulation:
Diabetes causes poor blood flow in legs and arms through the blood vessels. This poor blood flow causes peripheral vascular disease. The disease is mainly a circulation disorder that affects blood vessels that are away from heart.
Prevention:
Though exercising, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, staying away from smoking, etc. can help stop this disease, but the real solution lies in treating Diabetes. It is simply because it is the root cause of almost all foot-related complications.
Ill effect of Poor Blood Circulation:
Diabetes causes poor blood flow in legs and arms through the blood vessels. This poor blood flow causes peripheral vascular disease. The disease is mainly a circulation disorder that affects blood vessels that are away from heart.
Prevention:
Though exercising, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, staying away from smoking, etc. can help stop this disease, but the real solution lies in treating Diabetes. It is simply because it is the root cause of almost all foot-related complications.
----Ashish Jha
