Diabetic Skin Conditions
How Can Diabetes Affect the Skin?
For people with diabetes, having too much glucose or sugar in their blood for a long time can cause serious complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage and skin problems. If your blood glucose is high, your body loses fluid, causing your skin to become dry. This occurs because the body is turning your water into urine to remove the excess sugar from the blood. Your skin gets dry if your nerves, especially those in your legs and feet, do not get the message to sweat as sweating helps keep your skin soft and moist. Dry skin can crack and peel or become red and sore. Germs can enter through the cracks in your skin and cause an infection.
Over 30 percent of people with diabetes will have a skin condition related to their disease at some time in their lives. Fortunately, most skin conditions can be prevented and successfully treated if caught early but if not cared for properly, a minor skin condition can turn into a serious problem with potentially severe consequences.
Diabetes Skin Conditions Overview
If you have diabetes skin problems, you are not alone. Many of these conditions are the same as anyone else gets, only diabetics tend to get them more easily. A number of skin conditions can affect people with diabetes. Nerve and small blood vessel damage can make dry skin worse in people with diabetes. Keeping your skin well hydrated is important because any cracks or fissures could easily become infected. In addition to being uncomfortable, the itchiness of dry skin may cause a scratch or abrasion that also poses an infection risk.
To help, you should use a humidifier and avoid exposure to harsh detergents or cleansers. Tougher areas of the skin, such as the soles of your feet, may benefit from a moisturizing lotion containing urea (for moisture) and alpha-hydroxy, or AHA (for sloughing off dead skin). It is a good idea to ask your dermatologist about any new products you want to use before you use them. Certain areas of your body should be kept dry so using baby powder in your armpits, between your toes, and other moisture-prone skin-fold areas can help prevent fungal infections.
You should avoid very hot baths and showers and if your skin is dry, do not take bubble baths. After you bathe, use a standard skin lotion but do not put lotions between your toes as the extra moisture there can encourage a fungus to grow. You should treat any cuts you get right away, washing them with soap and water. Do not use Mercurochrome antiseptic, alcohol, or iodine to clean your skin because they are too harsh. Only use an antibiotic cream or ointment and cover minor cuts with sterile gauze.
Keeping your diabetes under control is the most important factor in preventing your skin-related complications of diabetes. The good news is that, unlike many other diabetes complications, most of diabetic skin disorders can be prevented or easily treated. Dr. Maxine Tabas is an expert in this field and she will help you find relief if you are plagued with diabetes skin problems. After your examination and evaluation, Dr. Tabas will discuss and recommend a regime designed specifically for you. She will give you advice regarding nutrition, exercise, and medication to keep your blood glucose level within the safe range. There is no need for you to suffer so call us today and together we can control or possibly eliminate your diabetes skin conditions.
