5 Tips You Should Know to Take Care of Diabetic Skin Problems

Why is skin care so important for diabetics?

When you have diabetes simple things such as skin care can’t be taken for granted. The disease affects every part of your body including your skin and can be very dangerous if you are not aware of and take precautions with your daily routines to avoid complications.

What skin problems do diabetics have?

There are two types of skin disorders common to diabetics.

Generic Skin Conditions/Disorders: These types of skin conditions are not a result of the disease but occur more frequently in people with high blood sugar. These include fungal and bacterial infections. Anyone can get them but if you have diabetes they present more often and with greater risk to your health.

Diabetes Related Skin Diseases: These are the types of skin problems that are directly caused by your diabetes and do not develop in normal, healthy individuals.

Generic Skin Conditions/Disorders Associated With Diabetes

The main reason these types of skin conditions are so much more problematic for diabetics is because the organisms feed off of sugars. With your increased blood sugar levels, your skin is the perfect breeding ground and the bacteria or fungus can flourish and multiply at a more rapid rate than on a non-diabetic subject.

Add to that the fact that most diabetics have decreased nerve sensation and impaired healing and you can see how something as simple as a stubbed toe can quickly become a health risk. Often the individual does not even feel the injury occur or the worsening of the infection until the infection is quite advanced.

Bacterial Infections. Diabetics are more prone to having conditions such as styes (infection in the glands of the eyes), boils, carbuncles (similar to boils but in the deeper tissues), folliculitis (infection in the hair follicles) and staph infections in minor cuts and scrapes.

Fungal infections. Jock itch, athlete’s foot, nail fungus on hands and feet, vaginal yeast infections and ring worm are all very common in people with diabetes. Many of the infections occur in the folds of the skin where it is typically warm and moist and this condition is referred to as intertrigo.

Continue reading more about tips for Diabetes Related Skin Diseases here

The 411 on Diabetes Plus Skin Conditions

Despite the fact that your skin is on the outside, it is your largest organ and as we’ve discussed in previous editions in our 411 on Diabetes Complications series, diabetes can affect every organ in (or on!) your body. This goes for your skin too!

With the summer heat barreling down, more of us are exposing our skin. We all know that we need to protect our skin from the sun by using sunscreen, but did you know there are other ways to keep your skin healthy from the damages of diabetes?

According to the ADA, about a third of people with diabetes will have some kind of skin condition. Fortunately, most of them are easily detectable and treatable if caught early.

Skin Complications: What Are They? 
Read article - The 411 on Diabetes + Skin Conditions : DiabetesMine: the all things diabetes blog

Diabetes Foot Care Video

It is important for you to care for your feet, so a cut or sore doesn't get infected and lead to amputation





More health related videos at www.clearlyhealth.com

Winter Weather Especially Harsh for Those with Diabetes

Trekking through the mall on holiday shopping excursions, shoveling out the driveway and playing in the snow with the kids - every winter, your feet log some long, chilly hours.

For people with health issues like diabetes, foot health is especially important when the weather turns cold, as the disease can affect your body's circulation even more so during the winter months.

The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) offers some podiatrist-approved advice to help those with diabetes maintain good foot health throughout the winter months:

Read full article

Diabetics Monitor Blood Sugar Through Sweat

Norwegian researchers have developed a new test that checks a person's sweat to monitor blood sugar levels!

The sweat meter can be attached to a smartphone. The phone can then alert patients when their blood sugar is getting low.

Find out more . . . 

Diabetes Induced Dry Skin

This was interesting because having Diabetes, I am a victim of dry skin - Charles

As a diabetic, if your blood glucose is high, your body loses fluid, hastening the dry skin process.

Dry skin can become itchy and can crack, causing you to scratch; breaks in the skin allow germs to enter and thus cause infection. If your blood glucose is elevated, it feeds the germs and makes these infections worse.

Nerve damage can decrease the amount you sweat and decreased sweating can lead to dry skin. Additionally, diabetics with nerve damage in the legs and feet have difficulty feeling pain, heat, or cold in the extremities, a condition called diabetic neuropathy, that can lead to a large sore or infection.

Poor blood flow, another very serious condition of diabetes also known as peripheral vascular disease, happens when not enough blood flows to the legs and feet, slowing the healing process to sores or infections. Smoking when you have diabetes makes blood flow problems much worse.

These harsh diabetic conditions can create havoc in the skin and feet. Using a quality shielding lotion will bond with the skin’s outer layer, protecting it from losing moisture in the first place, and moisture from the air to the skin through the use of special high-quality humectant moisturisers.

Additionally, shielding lotions help to keep irritants away from the deeper layers of skin, and do not wash off with soap or exposure to chemicals, allowing the skin to heal itself.

The following tips can help you stay on top of your skin care during the harsher winter months:

• Keep your diabetes well managed; people with high glucose levels tend to have dry skin and less ability to fend off harmful bacteria, thus increasing the risk of infection.

• Keep the skin clean and dry and use talcum powder in areas where skin touches the skin, such as armpits and groin.

• Avoid very hot baths and showers and if your skin is dry, do not use bubble baths. Moisturising soaps may help and always use a shielding lotion to encourage your skin to retain moisture. Do not put lotions between the toes as the extra moisture there can encourage fungus to grow.

• Try to prevent dry skin; scratching dry or itchy skin can open it up and allow infection to set in. Moisturise your skin with a shielding lotion to prevent chapping, especially in cold or windy weather.

• Treat cuts immediately; wash minor cuts with soap and water, do not use alcohol, mercurochrome antiseptic or iodine to clean the skin because they are too harsh. Only use an antibiotic cream or ointment if your doctor advises it, cover minor cuts with sterile gauze and see a doctor if you get a major cut, burn, or infection.

• During cold, dry months keep your home more humid. Bathe less during this weather, if possible.

• Use mild shampoos. Do not use feminine hygiene sprays.

• See a dermatologist (skin doctor) about any skin problems if you are not able to solve them yourself.

• Take good care of your feet. Check them every day for sores and cuts. Wear broad, flat shoes that fit well. Check your shoes for foreign objects before putting them on.


Source - Tenerife News