I have diabetes, why doesn’t my foot ulcer heal?

I have diabetes, why doesn’t my foot ulcer heal on it’s own?

Diabetes is a very complicated disease that affects all the systems in your body, including the ability to heal wounds.  Higher than normal levels of sugar in your blood can reduce your body’s ability to heal wounds.  It’s also harder to fight an infection in the presence of diabetes, which can certainly complicate wound healing.  Very often, a wound the bottom of your foot is the result of excessive pressure beneath a bony prominence.  Unless you reduce or remove that excessive pressure, the wound may have difficulty healing, even if your blood glucose is well controlled.  Of course, in the presence of neuropathy, or abnormal nerve function, a common side effect of elevated blood glucose, you may not know that you’ve got a wound on the bottom of your foot, so you don’t have it treated.  Daily foot inspections and regular visits to your podiatrist can help prevent wounds from developing.  But once you have a wound, make sure your glucose is well controlled and you have a podiatrist help you get that wound healed before further complications arise.