Why Do Diabetics Need Wound Management?
Diabetes is about much more than monitoring your blood sugar. It’s also about managing your wounds and knowing why diabetics need wound management.
For those with diabetes, it takes longer for wounds to heal because the disease impairs circulation and weakens the immune system. Those with diabetes may also experience leg numbness, which makes it more difficult to determine if there are foot injuries.
This is why wound care for diabetic foot ulcers is so important, and why it’s one of the many skilled nursing services we offer at Bladen East.
3 Reasons Why Diabetics Need Wound Management
1. Infection Prevention and Treatment
Often, those with diabetes don’t realize they have a wound until it has started to get infected. Therefore, this means monitoring the wound closely and changing dressings when needed. In addition, if infections are left untreated, they can lead to limb amputation, so it’s important to be proactive when addressing infection prevention.
2. Faster Healing
By maintaining the bandages and avoiding infections, wounds actually heal faster. You may have heard the myth that a wound will heal faster if it is uncovered. This is simply not true. The proper bandaging and monitoring go a long way toward a quicker recovery.
3. Avoiding Amputation
Did you know that every day, 230 Americans who have diabetes will have an amputation? Worldwide, every 30 seconds, a leg is amputated—and 85 percent of those were the result of a non-healing diabetic foot ulcer. And, according to the American Journal for Managed Care, those numbers are continuing to rise.
Proper wound care treatment enables those with diabetes to avoid serious amputations that dramatically affect the quality of life.
What’s Involved in Diabetic Wound Care?
The best way to avoid complications is to eliminate infection early on. While not all foot ulcers are infected, close intervention and a treatment program is needed to help you heal.
This involves:
- Cleaning the wound regularly
- Bandaging the wound and changing the dressing when needed
- Debridement, where dead tissue is removed using a specialized medical instrument
- Careful monitoring of your blood sugar to ensure faster healing
What’s Involved in a Nursing Care Plan for a Diabetic Needing Wound Management?
At Bladen East, we’ll work with you to create an individual nursing care plan for diabetic wounds. While details will vary depending upon your personal needs, in general, this plan includes:
- Working closely with your doctor to provide the prescribed care
- Checking on the wound regularly to ensure it’s healing properly
- Providing patient education on how to care for—and avoid—non-healing wounds
- Careful monitoring of blood sugar
- Wound debridement, if needed
As always, we’ll coordinate our treatment with your doctor and other members of your health care team to ensure a seamless continuum of care.
Why Do Those With Diabetes Have Problems With Their Feet?
Diabetes affects your circulation, and this most often impacts the legs and feet. In addition, a condition called diabetic neuropathy can also cause pain and numbness in the legs and feet.
Therefore, this means that those with diabetes may have a wound on their foot and not even realize it until an infection begins. This is why it is vital that they check their feet for cuts, scrapes or ulcers daily.
How to Avoid Non-Healing Wounds
The best option is, of course, to avoid non-healing wounds. With a few simple precautions, those with diabetes can minimize their chances of being faced with a potentially serious health complication.
Those with diabetes should:
- Avoid going barefoot
- Ensure that they have comfortable, well-fitting shoes
- Regularly inspect their feet for signs of injury
- Monitor their blood sugar regularly and follow their treatment plan
- Eat a healthy diet—this helps keep your blood sugar under control, which helps speed healing
- Follow the care plan outlined by their physician
- Contact their doctor immediately if a problem wound appears
Bladen East: Your Premier Choice for Diabetic Foot Care
Those with diabetes are on a journey of constant diligence. From carefully monitoring blood sugar to being on the lookout for non-healing wounds, it’s a continual battle to maintain health.
That’s where we come in.
We provide the skilled nursing care you need for wound care for diabetic foot ulcers. Headquartered in the quaint town of Elizabethtown, we’re only a short drive from some of the most gorgeous beaches on the East Coast.
As a family owned and operated facility, we have a vested interest in your wellness and in our community. Therefore, our goal is for you to return to your home and the ones you love as soon as you are safely able to do so.
Learn more about our extensive services. Contact us to schedule a virtual tour.