Treatment for diabetic foot ulcers really does start with taking care of your feet. Diabetes increases your risk of a whole range of foot-related problems. While your actions cannot guarantee you will never need treatment for foot ulcers, they will aid in minimising extreme complications, and shorten healing time.
Everyone needs to take good care of their feet; after all, they go through a great deal every day. However, if you have diabetes, then this is even more important. Reduced blood supply to your extremities and peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) increase your risk of a range of foot conditions including ulcers. Start your diabetic foot ulcer treatment by getting your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked regularly and kept under control. This is just as important as washing your feet and changing your socks regularly. Wound care through prevention can also be assisted by wearing the right shoes. Avoid those that squeeze, pinch or rub. These increase your risk of foot ulcers and sores; it is also a good idea to always wear socks or other foot coverings with your shoes as this will aid in keeping your feet dry. Additionally, it is advisable never to walk around barefoot, even at home. While it may feel comfortable, being barefoot increases your risk of skin damage and infection by bacteria that could develop into ulcers. Improving your blood circulation by moving regularly, not sitting with your legs crossed, and of course by not smoking will also reduce your risk factor considerably.
Stages Of Ulcer Development
Treatment for diabetic foot ulcer should be sought as soon as any symptoms are noted. The less severe the ulcer, the easier it will be to treat and the less time it will take to heal. The stages used to define bedsores are an easy way to understand the progression of your foot ulcer.
The early stages of an ulcer are usually defined by a sore that may present as red and of a different texture to the surrounding skin. The skin is not yet broken, and while there may be pain, this is not always the case if there is existing nerve damage in the foot. At the next stage, there is actual physical damage to the outer layers of skin. It can look like a blister, or take on a crater-like appearance. Wound care at this stage may involve the need to remove already dead skin. Diabetic foot ulcer treatment at later stages becomes much more serious as the tissues under the skin start to be affected and the wound gets deeper. There is increased risk of infection and as the damage progresses, both the damage and infection can enter the surrounding muscles and bones. Once at this stage, you are at severe risk of gangrene. This is one of the major causes of amputations in those with diabetes and is such a great risk because of existing blood flow restrictions in the lower limbs coupled with diabetic nerve damage. However, if action is taken, even later stage ulcers can be effectively treated with the right approach to healing.
Best Treatment For Diabetic Foot Ulcer – The Proof Is In The Results
Best treatment for diabetic foot ulcer conditions, and other lesions associated with diabetes, is one that takes the complex nature of both the ulcer and the diabetes into consideration. Treatment of the extremities in diabetics is complicated by nerve damage and poor blood flow. But BRH Therapy overcomes these and many other problems.
It is important to know about the different options that are available, no matter whether you are looking for treatment or you want to specialize in this area in the future. If you are interested in working in this area, there is a lot that needs to be considered. You will need to find a good course to embark on and make sure that you actually have a course with practical elements to it. After all, these sorts of procedures cannot be learned with just theory alone. You will need to get the right clothing and protecting gear are as well. You can get nursing gear at Uniform Advantage and other online places like this.
BRH Therapy is a relatively new therapy, but is already being used worldwide for the treatment of chronic and hard-to-heal wounds. It is painless and non-invasive, which adds to its popularity. While it is not widely available, the results of clinical studies suggest that it is of great benefit to those with chronic conditions that result in complex and often dangerous foot ulcers. Clinic trials on ulcers that had failed to close within a period of 90 days after other traditional treatments showed a reduction in size by a minimum of 60% after using this therapy for just eight treatments. As a diabetic foot ulcer treatment, it is highly effective because it works by stimulating the blood flow and encouraging new cell growth. There is no need for surgery, meaning that other complications are excluded from your risk assessment. Wound care through this approach has shown to take between one and four months to achieve full healing, depending on the severity of the initial ulcer. Other trials have shown improvements of 50% in diabetic foot ulcers in as few as four weeks of therapy. It is not only the size of the ulcer that is reduced, but the increased blood flow improves general foot health, minimising the risk of further complications later on.
BRH Therapy For Hard-To-Heal Diabetic Ulcers
Best treatment for foot ulcers is a technique known as BRH Therapy. Still very rare in the UK, it is of extreme benefit to those who have tried other treatment methods but find themselves with ulcers that are stuck in the healing process, or are considered hard to heal. Read on to learn more.
BRH Therapy is a non-invasive therapy that, when used regularly over a number of weeks, can result in the complete healing of a number of different wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers. While it is still relatively new as a diabetic foot ulcer treatment in the UK, clinical studies have produced excellent results, including reducing the size of ulcers by up to 80% in as few as eight treatments. It has also been shown to be able to achieve complete wound closure in less than four months in those who have previously undergone anything up to two years of other unsuccessful treatments. The wound care treatment works using low frequency ultrasound combined with electro stimulation. This creates an effect known as micro-stimulation through the massaging of the blood vessels and tissues in the wound and surrounding area. The therapy is achieved using a handheld device; it is non-invasive and does not cause any pain. In addition, the tissues vibrate and soften in response to the ultrasonic waves. The heat and pressure that this also creates encourage blood flow and the production of collagen for new cell growth. Progress with the treatment is carefully monitored and measured using specialist equipment.
Treatment Of Leg Ulcer – Is Larval Therapy Effective?
Treatment of leg ulcer wounds necessarily involves the removal of dead or infected skin to allow the unaffected skin and tissue to heal. There are a number of ways that this can be achieved including using Larval Therapy. But what does this therapy involve and is it effective on ulcers?
The most common way for dead skin to be removed is through surgical removal, or by it being cut away. While this removes dead, or necrotic, tissue it does not have any effect on living infected tissue or skin. This then needs antibiotics to stop its spread and remove the infection. This approach to wound care can mean that healing takes time and involves several rounds of tissue removal, wound cleansing and dressing. Antibiotics can have unpleasant side-effects and the whole process can, in the short term, increase the levels of pain felt by the patient. An alternative approach, used as part of leg ulcer treatment, is Larval Therapy. This involves the placing of sterile maggots in the open wound with a special dressing placed around and over the area to keep the area sterile without killing the maggots. The larvae then get to work on the necrotic tissue. They secrete a proteolytic enzyme that liquefies the dead tissue, which they then ingest. The PH of the wound is changed by the secretions of the larvae and the bacteria causing the infection is destroyed by the antibacterial substances in their alimentary tract. Healing and the growth of new tissues is also promoted.
What Is TNP Therapy?
Ulcerated legs treatment options vary between different providers. Often, their application will depend on a number of factors including whether the patient is experiencing difficulties getting the ulcer to heal and the cause of the ulcer. One of the techniques used to help in the healing process is Topical Negative Pressure (TNP) Therapy.
One of the problems encountered during leg ulcer treatment is the presence of poor circulation and potential for infection because the ulcer is an open wound. Traditional treatments involve cleaning and covering the wound and adding pressure through the use of compression bandages. In many cases, this is effective and with proper wound care, the wound is fully healed. However, there are cases where this does not happen, or compression bandages become very painful for the patient. When this happens, an alternative treatment is required and TNP is an increasingly popular answer. It works by applying negative pressure. This is achieved by placing a special sealed dressing over the affected area and attaching this to a vacuum pump. As the air is drawn out, it also removes fluid from the wound and improves circulation. In so doing, more fresh oxygenated blood reaches the area and promotes the growth of healthy skin and tissue. The dressing is changed regularly to allow it to be cleaned and inspected. As well as reducing healing time, this approach reduces the risk of infection and cuts the need to introduce antibiotics into the treatment cycle.
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