In diabetes mellitus, one of the possible complications may be skin lesions. The causes of such lesions can be different, but if you follow certain rules, the risks of skin damage in diabetes can be minimized.
Diabetes mellitus is a severe test for a person that accompanies him for a long period of time. And the whole difficulty is not so much that you need to constantly monitor the level of glucose in the blood and correct it with insulin, but also that diabetes mellitus gives complications to all organs and systems. The skin also suffers.
A bit about diabetes
You probably know that diabetes is an endocrine disease. It develops due to a lack of the hormone insulin. There is a persistent increase in blood glucose levels and because of this, all metabolic processes in the body are disrupted.
Diabetes is of two types: type I (develops primarily in young people) and type II (occurs in people after 40 years). Other types of diabetes mellitus usually occur due to a precursor disease, which may not be associated with the pancreas (diabetes of pregnant women, diabetes, which is caused by infections, drugs, genetic abnormalities).
Complications of Diabetes
Diabetic: retinopathy (due to damage to the small vessels of the eyeballs, a person’s visual acuity decreases until complete blindness); neuropathy (again, due to damage to small vessels, disorders of the nervous system occur: acute cerebrovascular accident, neurosis-like states, sensorimotor polyneuropathy etc.); nephropathy (impaired renal function due to impaired metabolism of lipids and carbohydrates in the tissues of the kidneys); micro / macroangiopathy (atherosclerosis of the vessels of the whole body): diabetic foot (a complex of changes that also develop against the background of neuropathy, angiopathy and osteoarthropathy and contribute to increased trauma and infection of soft tissues with the development of purulent process and subsequent amputation).
Skin damage in diabetes
As you may have guessed, all systemic disorders in diabetes mellitus arise due to circulatory disorders in vessels of various calibers and metabolic disorders.
Because of this, the skin becomes rough, begins to peel off (especially the scalp), and its elasticity decreases. Calluses appear on the palms and soles . Nails are deformed and thicken. The skin at the sites of thickening may acquire a yellowish tint.
People with diabetes have itchy skin (later cracks), hair fall out and skin infections often recur.
Skin care
First of all, it is necessary to replace ordinary soap with a pH-neutral.
It is better to wipe the face with lotions or cosmetic milk.
Shoes and legs
Due to the close uncomfortable shoes in a person with diabetes (and not only), corns and corns can occur. They press on the skin, hemorrhage appears under this formation and in the future this can lead to the development of a trophic ulcer, which, if left untreated, will turn into gangrene.
Therefore, shoes should be comfortable. If the corn has already formed, then you can not cut it and steam it in hot water. Also, plasters and liquid cannot be used to remove corns.
You can and should use creams in which a high urea content (10%). Corns and corns can be processed with pumice, but carefully. In order not to injure the skin.
The legs should not be allowed to chant and supercool / overheat.
Minor skin cuts
They can not be treated with alcohol-containing solutions. Best peroxide, furatsilin, chlorhexidine. Then apply an antiseptic cream.
Folds of skin
Diabetics are subject to violation of thermoregulation and excessive sweating, because places where there are skin folds should be treated with talc.
Whatever it was, but any manifestation of diabetes on the skin should alert you. It is necessary to consult a doctor in the near future after detection.