diabetic patients
Dr. Khaled Idris to Al-Sharq al-Awsat: Infection with it means tissue death .. And popular mixtures have no scientific basis. Abdul Hafeez Khoja Diabetes is considered a disease of the age, which affects a number of organ systems in the body. The problems of this disease lie in the dangerous complications that can result from neglecting its treatment, as its complications do not stop at the symptoms of infection only, but extend to what is worse if the patient is not able to deal with it with diet and maintain the appropriate treatment.
Narrowing or blockage of peripheral arteries is one of the most important complications of diabetes, and neglecting to treat it may lead to severe cases leading to gangrene and amputation of the foot or leg, and there are many methods of treatment .. including surgery and catheter intervention to expand and install stents.
The problem may begin with chronic redness of the skin in the extremities due to a blood vessel disorder, or in the form of brown spots in the legs, then the patient complains of a lack of sensation in the skin, which results in the appearance of a sore on the skin and often affects the legs and feet, followed by muscle cramps in the legs and if not Treated well, it may lead to the emergence of gangrene, which is the death of the part that is cut off by blood, which may be needed in the end as a treatment necessity to amputate the affected limb. Diabetes and gangrene: Is there a cure for gangrene if it occurs in a patient with diabetes?
Dr. Khaled bin Muhammad Idris, consultant foot and ankle medicine and surgery, poses another question before answering the first, which is: Can we revive the dead? The answer is of course not. So, what is gangrene?
Colloquially called "gangrene" and its definition of necrosis or tissue necrosis. Generally, this is due to blocked blood vessels and weak or interrupted blood supply to a part of the human body that leads to death and erosion of that part. Since we cannot resurrect the dead, the part that has died must be surgically removed. At the same time, one must follow up with a vascular surgeon to consider the possibility of performing surgery to widen the arteries or even transplant and connect arteries to the affected part of the body while taking prescription drugs to aid in perfusion. As for the part most affected by gangrene in the human body in our Arab countries, it is the foot and its toes, Foot Gangrene, especially in diabetics for the same reasons mentioned above. Some believe that when removing or amputating part of the foot, "gangrene goes away" and this is a very misconception. Because gangrene does not walk, but what happens is an increase in tissue mortality due to lack of blood flow to it, so doctors are forced again to remove this part of the foot or limb. However, the occurrence of this situation can be minimized by good surgical planning and based on the understanding between the vascular surgeon and the foot and ankle surgeon on the extent to which blood supply reaches the foot and what are the chances of wound healing after the operation at the chosen level of amputation. Usually, the amputation is done after the completion of all vascular examinations and operations and the delivery of the largest amount of blood possible to the foot.
What about popular mixes and seductive ideas for patients to treat gangrene?
All of these popular mixtures are not based on any scientific basis and have no place in the application even if they are reconciled with some. The ideal place for such herbs is experimental laboratories in universities and scientific research centers to consider them, legalize them, and know their good from their evil before giving them to these innocent people and throwing them to perdition.
For example, we take myrrh, for the people of the Badia have used it for many years and noticed that it helps to dry the wounds quickly and then heal and this is a good thing, but the first people of the Badia did not have diabetes, blockage of blood vessels and a lack of blood flow to the extremities, so what happens When a diabetic puts myrrh on his foot wound? ... he dries up quickly and gangrene begins. Myrrh has very strong substances to dry up tissues, and this is precisely what we do not want for diabetic foot wounds.
So, in the event that gangrene is present in a part of the human body, he must refer to specialized doctors immediately to conduct tests, analyzes, and agree with the surgical staff to treat it as soon as possible and with the least possible loss in the body. There are many patients who had gangrene, they were treated by removing very simple parts and they recovered, God willing.
Rules for caring for feet: Dr. Sawsan Khankar, a diabetes specialist at the Diabetes Care Center, confirms that the function of white blood cells is affected, and blood circulation is impaired in diabetics with high levels of blood sugar, so that their skin becomes more susceptible to infection with microbes, fungi or cysts than normal people . What complicates the matter for a diabetic is the loss of sensitivity in the feet, so the patient does not feel the burns, wounds, bruises, or infections that the feet can be exposed to. Therefore it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the principles of foot care. The most important of them are:
> "Wash the feet daily" with soap and lukewarm water.
> Dry the feet carefully and the paper by a soft, clean towel especially the toes.
> Use creams or medicinal oils to reduce friction while using talcum powder between the fingers.
> Never use hot water.
> Use clean, comfortable, and non-tight socks.
> Choose comfortable, non-tight shoes made of flexible leather.
Avoid open toe shoes.
> «Check the shoes daily» to avoid the presence of foreign objects such as pebbles, staples.
> Don''t walk bare feet.
> "Check the feet daily" to discover any cuts, scratches, blisters, bubbles, or a change in the color of the skin.
> Consult your doctor if there are any wounds to the feet, or nail growth inside the flesh, or infection with fungi.
> Trim nails straight and use file to smoothen.
> It is forbidden for the diabetic patient to cut or remove the corns of the foot or calluses by himself, but he must go to the specialist doctor to remove it.
