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skin ulcer |
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| Publisher: |
Michael Malega |
| Date: |
2007-03-06 |
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I would like to thank you for visiting and reading this article. The topic has been cautiously researched and documented for your benefit.
Many of us have heard of ulcers. Normally when we hear this term we think of stomach ulcers or even canker sores. It is very seldom that we hear about ulcers in conjunction with the skin. This type of ulcer is known as a skin ulcer. A skin ulcer is reasoned as an open sore that is often accompanied by the peeling of reddened tissues.
A skin ulcer can be caused by many different factors. Trauma, exposure to heat or cold, problems with poor blood circulation can cause skin ulcers. There is also the possibility of a skin ulcer being caused by the skin being open to corrosive materials that are known to irritate the skin. Skin ulcers can also develop as a event of the body’s blood supply being decreased to certain areas.
These areas can develop a skin ulcer because of the extended pressure level that has been applied to that part of the skin. The causes of such skin ulcers may be attributed to confinement in bed ora chair. Also people who need to stop hard braces or a plaster cast can also get a skin ulcer.
Pressure level ulcers which are also named decubitus ulcers or as we know them bedsores are another type of skin ulcer. There is a possibility of infections occurring with skin ulcers. These infections can lead to severe health repercussions. Some other health conditions that can cause skin ulcers to develop are mouth ulcers, Chronic venous insufficiency, diabetes, infection and peripheral vascular disease.
The best way to name if you have a skin ulcer is to see if any of the symptoms are present. These symptoms include a reddened area of skin. Advanced skin ulcer conditions will have open sore where a water discharge is emitting from the open skin ulcer.
For anyone who is Suffering from skin ulcers there are over the counter topical antibiotics that can be used. These can be neosporin, and Baciguent. You could also use a combining of these two topical medications with polymyxin B, which are Neosporin and Polysporin. These two are used to goody various skin infections. There are prescription medicine strength topical antibiotics like metronidazole or MetroGel and also mupirocin or Bactroban.
These topical antibiotics could be necessary to treat skin ulcer infections. Versatile wellness care providers have found evidence that shifting the body position at smallest every two hours will avoid pressure level being applied on the same parts of the body for a long period of time.
There are some people who will find that Using a special mattress or bed supports can help, to repress their skin ulcer development. In general skin ulcers need to have their wound dressings changed very frequently. In severe skin ulcer cases surgery might be required so that the diseased tissues can be removed.
This operation can also help to remedy the skin ulcer wound.
In conclusion I’d like to say thank you to you for reading this article and good luck with any issues related to to this information.
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skin ulcer Medicine Health & Fitness |
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Related Article:skin ulcer |
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peter hutch |
2008-03-12 |
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Title: Foot Ulcer – Types And Treatment
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A skin ulcer is where an area of skin has broken down and you can see the underlying tissue. Most skin ulcers occur on the lower legs or feet. The skin normally heals quickly if it is cut. However, in some people with diabetes the skin on the feet does not heal so well and is prone to develop an ulcer. This can be even after a mild injury such as stepping on a small stone in your bare feet.
Types of Foot Ulcer
Venous ulcers are located below the knee and are primarily found on the inner part of the leg, just above the ankle.
The borders of a venous ulcer are usually irregularly shaped and the surrounding skin is often discolored and swollen. It may even feel warm or hot. The skin may appear shiny and tight, depending on the amount of edema (swelling). The skin may also have brown or purple discoloration about the lower leg, known as "stasis skin changes."
Neurotrophic (diabetic)
Neurotrophic ulcers are usually located at increased pressure points on the bottom of the feet. However, neurotrophic ulcers related to trauma can occur anywhere on the foot. They occur primarily in people with diabetes although they can affect anyone who has an impaired sensation of the feet.
Diabetes can cause damage to the nerve and vascular supply in the feet and legs. Patients with neuropathy have reduced or no sensation and, therefore, might be unaware of any trauma to their feet caused by ill-fitting footwear or an object in their shoes, such as a piece of glass, a stone or a drawing pin. Continued walking on an injured foot will damage it further and minor lesions can become more serious. A simple examination of the feet, feeling inside the shoes before wearing them and not walking barefoot can help to prevent minor injuries. Many of the patients attending the diabetes clinic are older and some cannot see, feel or reach their feet, which means that they are often unaware of any injuries
Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by neuropathic (nerve) and vascular (blood vessel) complications of the disease.
Nerve damage due to diabetes causes altered or complete loss of feeling in the foot and/or leg. This is known as peripheral neuropathy. Pressure from shoes, cuts, bruises, or any injury to the foot may go unnoticed. The loss of protective sensation stops the patient from being warned that the skin is being injured and may result in skin loss, blisters and ulcers.
Treatment options for all ulcers may include:
· Antibiotics, if an infection is present
· Anti-platelet or anti-clotting medications to prevent a blood clot
· Topical wound care therapies
· Compression garments
As a rule, the better the control of your diabetes, the less likely you are to develop complications such as foot ulcers. Also, where appropriate, treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, and reducing any other risk factors will reduce your risk of diabetes complications. In particular, you are strongly advised to stop smoking if you smoke.
Our feet keep us balanced and carry our weight. In a lifetime they walk as much as going five times around the earth. We should look after our feet before any of these problems creep in. Some of the serious foot problems may need the attention of a doctor. So, prevention is always better than cure.
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groshan fabiola |
2007-03-26 |
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Title: All about peptic ulcer
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Peptic ulcer is the medical term most frequently used to describe both gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer. Ulcer is a sore, a lesion that is open and is fond either on the skin or the parts of the body covered by mucous.
A gastric ulcer or a duodenal ulcer is an open sore in the lining of your stomach or of the duodenum, where acids are found. When you have an ulcer in your stomach, the proper medical term is gastric ulcer. If it is found in the duodenum, it is called a duodenal ulcer.
Some time ago, the cause of an ulcer was thought to be lifestyle. If you had a busy life, filled with stress and did not have time to eat properly, those were the main reasons doctors believed cause ulcer. Later, more research was made and they came to the conclusion that the amount of acid in your stomach was another strong cause of ulcer formation. This was the general thought, until an Australian researcher discovered the H pylori bacteria. This is now thought to be the main cause of an ulcer. Although, your lifestyle, acids and pepsin play a very big part in causing an ulcer, the most important cause of the ulcer is today the bacteria. Almost ninety percent of the people that suffer from an ulcer also have this bacteria in their bodies. H pylori produces some substances that have an important in weakening your stomach' s coating, which protects it. This way, the stomach is more susceptible to the effects of the acids and pepsin, leading to an ulcer. Besides this main cause of an ulcer, there are a few more factors that contributed in the development of an ulcer.
Smoking is one of those factors. Many studies have shown that if you are a smoker, the risk of developing an ulcer is greater. Furthermore, smoking slows down the healing process of your ulcer and even increases the risk of the ulcer recurrence. Caffeine is also an "friend " of the ulcer. It can stimulate the secretion of acid in your stomach, thus further agravating the already existing ulcer. Alcohol is another enemy of the life without an ulcer. There is no certain proof that alcohol and ulcer are highly related, but studies show that the number of people that suffer from a liver damage linked to consumption of alcohol also suffer from an ulcer.
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groshan fabiola |
2006-10-06 |
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Title: What exactly is peptic ulcer and what causes it?
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Ulcer is a very common and known disease that each one of us has heard of. But what many don't know is what are the true causes of the ulcer disease. Until some time ago everybody believed that ulcer is caused by hot and spicy food and also by stress at work. In fact, a bacteria is responsible for ulcer and it can affect people no matter what age or sex they are.
What exactly is peptic ulcer?
Well peptic ulcer occurs when a small opening, or wound, appears in the inside of the stomach, in it's lining to be more precise. This open wound situated inside the stomach will cause pain because the gastric acid that can be found there will hurt the tissue that is exposed by the tear.
There are more types of peptic ulcer. The one mentioned above, represented by an open wound in the stomach is called gastric ulcer. If the wound is located in the upper part of the duodenum (small intestine) than the peptic ulcer is called duodenal ulcer, and if it appears inside the lower part of the esophagus then it's called esophageal ulcer.
The bacteria that has been discovered to cause ulcer is called Heliobacter Pylori and you can get infected with it by simply drinking water or eating food that contains it, but it only starts to manifest once its bearer has reached a certain age. In most cases this age was discovered to be 60. It is known that billions of people are carrying H. pylori.
The bacteria starts to 'eat' the protective membrane that protects the stomach lining or the duodenum and lets the damaging acids pass through, causing more trouble and eventually leading to the appearance of peptic ulcer. Certain spicy foods and a stressful lifestyle can amplify the ulcer's effects, but they don't cause it. Anyway, it's more likely that a person who has been eating junk-food all his/her life has a more advanced and severe ulcer than someone who has been eating healthy food.
The symptoms that peptic ulcer presents vary from patient to patient, but the most common ones are indigestions, abdominal burning, and of course pain inside, where the ulcer is located. The signs are more visible after a meal because the stomach starts working and releasing acid.
If you feel pain after eating and you're experiencing indigestion, visit a doctor, and if you're diagnosed with ulcer start the treatment soon, before things get worse. Treatments consist of different types of medication and a healthy diet.
Because junk-food and stress are a common thing in modern society more and more people are suffering from peptic ulcer each year, but hopefully medicine will find a very efficient treatment soon. Until this happens the only thing you can do is stay away from the dangerous types of food.
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Corwin Brown |
2008-04-25 |
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Title: Peptic Ulcer - Get Information about its Causes and Symptoms
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An ulcer is any break in the skin or in a mucous membrane. Mucous membrane is a thin tissue that lines the interior surface of body openings. The term ulcer is used most commonly to refer to ulcers that occur in the upper part of the digestive system, such as peptic ulcers. At one time, doctors believed that ulcers were caused by too much stress. However, it is now known that bacterial infection accounts for more than three-quarters of all peptic ulcers. A peptic ulcer is an ulcer caused by stomach acid. An ulcer is where the lining of the gut is damaged and the underlying tissue is exposed. If you could see inside your gut, an ulcer looks like a small, red crater on the inside lining of the gut. An ulcer is an open sore that forms when the lining of the gut is corroded by acidic digestive juices. Peptic ulcers can form in the lining of the stomach (gastric ulcers), duodenum (the first part of the small bowel or intestine) or the esophagus (gullet or swallowing tube). Peptic ulcers are quite common; it is known that 5-10% of the world’s population suffer from peptic ulcers at least once. An ulcer is an area of the stomach or duodenal (the first part of the small intestine) lining that becomes eroded by the stomach acid. Known individually as stomach and duodenal ulcers, collectively they are known as peptic ulcers. Learn about the symptoms and causes of peptic ulcers. Symptoms: Peptic ulcers are occasionally painless. However, the most common symptom is a dull ache in the upper abdomen that usually occurs two to three hours after a meal; the ache is relieved by eating. Other common symptoms include weight loss, bloating, belching, and nausea. Untreated, peptic ulcers often bleed and may cause sharp burning pain in the area of the stomach or just below it. The symptoms of peptic ulcer are sharp and severe pain and discomfort in the upper part of the abdomen. Gastric ulcer pain usually occurs an hour after meals and rarely at night. Duodenal ulcer pain usually occurs between meals when the stomach is empty. The pain is relieved by food, especially milk. As the disease progresses, there is distension of the stomach due to excessive flatulence, mental tension, insomnia, and gradual weakening of the body. Blood may also be detected in the stool. Causes, incidence, and risk factors Normally, the lining of the stomach and small intestines have protection against the irritating acids produced in your stomach. For a variety of reasons, the protective mechanisms may become faulty, leading to a breakdown of the lining. This results in inflammation (gastritis ) or an ulcer. The most common cause of such damage is infection of the stomach with a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori). Most people with peptic ulcers have this organism living in their gastrointestinal (GI) tract. On the other hand, many people have this organism living in their GI tract but they don't get an ulcer. The diet of the patient suffering from a peptic ulcer should be so planned as to provide adequate nutrition, while affording rest to the disturbed organs, maintaining continuous neutralisation of the gastric acid, inhibiting the production of acid, and reducing mechanical and chemical irritation. Milk, cream, butter, fruits, fresh raw and boiled vegetables, natural foods, and natural vitamin supplements constitute the best diet. Read about Arthritis Relief Back Pain Relief Joint Pain Relief . Also Read about Tribulus Terrestris and Liver Disease Liver Damage Supplement
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Peter Hutch |
2008-03-14 |
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Title: Foot Ulcer - Types And Treatment
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Diet and Recipes and Upload and Share Videos, Photos. Also read about Triphala Internal Cleanser ">A skin ulcer is where an area of skin has broken down and you can see the underlying tissue. Most skin ulcers occur on the lower legs or feet. The skin normally heals quickly if it is cut. However, in some people with diabetes the skin on the feet does not heal so well and is prone to develop an ulcer. This can be even after a mild injury such as stepping on a small stone in your bare feet. Types of Foot Ulcer Venous ulcers are located below the knee and are primarily found on the inner part of the leg, just above the ankle. The borders of a venous ulcer are usually irregularly shaped and the surrounding skin is often discolored and swollen. It may even feel warm or hot. The skin may appear shiny and tight, depending on the amount of edema (swelling). The skin may also have brown or purple discoloration about the lower leg, known as "stasis skin changes." Neurotrophic (diabetic) Neurotrophic ulcers are usually located at increased pressure points on the bottom of the feet. However, neurotrophic ulcers related to trauma can occur anywhere on the foot. They occur primarily in people with diabetes although they can affect anyone who has an impaired sensation of the feet. Diabetes can cause damage to the nerve and vascular supply in the feet and legs. Patients with neuropathy have reduced or no sensation and, therefore, might be unaware of any trauma to their feet caused by ill-fitting footwear or an object in their shoes, such as a piece of glass, a stone or a drawing pin. Continued walking on an injured foot will damage it further and minor lesions can become more serious. A simple examination of the feet, feeling inside the shoes before wearing them and not walking barefoot can help to prevent minor injuries. Many of the patients attending the diabetes clinic are older and some cannot see, feel or reach their feet, which means that they are often unaware of any injuries. Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by neuropathic (nerve) and vascular (blood vessel) complications of the disease. Nerve damage due to diabetes causes altered or complete loss of feeling in the foot and/or leg. This is known as peripheral neuropathy. Pressure from shoes, cuts, bruises, or any injury to the foot may go unnoticed. The loss of protective sensation stops the patient from being warned that the skin is being injured and may result in skin loss, blisters and ulcers. Treatment options for all ulcers may include: •Antibiotics, if an infection is present •Anti-platelet or anti-clotting medications to prevent a blood clot •Topical wound care therapies •Compression garments As a rule, the better the control of your diabetes, the less likely you are to develop complications such as foot ulcers. Also, where appropriate, treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, and reducing any other risk factors will reduce your risk of diabetes complications. In particular, you are strongly advised to stop smoking if you smoke. Our feet keep us balanced and carry our weight. In a lifetime they walk as much as going five times around the earth. We should look after our feet before any of these problems creep in. Some of the serious foot problems may need the attention of a doctor. So, prevention is always better than cure. Read about Diet and Recipes and Upload and Share Videos, Photos. Also read about Triphala Internal Cleanser
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peterhutch |
2008-03-12 |
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Title: Foot Ulcer – Types And Treatment
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A skin ulcer is where an area of skin has broken down and you can see the underlying tissue. Most skin ulcers occur on the lower legs or feet. The skin normally heals quickly if it is cut. However, in some people with diabetes the skin on the feet does not heal so well and is prone to develop an ulcer. This can be even after a mild injury such as stepping on a small stone in your bare feet.
Types of Foot Ulcer
Venous ulcers are located below the knee and are primarily found on the inner part of the leg, just above the ankle.
The borders of a venous ulcer are usually irregularly shaped and the surrounding skin is often discolored and swollen. It may even feel warm or hot. The skin may appear shiny and tight, depending on the amount of edema (swelling). The skin may also have brown or purple discoloration about the lower leg, known as "stasis skin changes."
Neurotrophic (diabetic)
Neurotrophic ulcers are usually located at increased pressure points on the bottom of the feet. However, neurotrophic ulcers related to trauma can occur anywhere on the foot. They occur primarily in people with diabetes although they can affect anyone who has an impaired sensation of the feet.
Diabetes can cause damage to the nerve and vascular supply in the feet and legs. Patients with neuropathy have reduced or no sensation and, therefore, might be unaware of any trauma to their feet caused by ill-fitting footwear or an object in their shoes, such as a piece of glass, a stone or a drawing pin. Continued walking on an injured foot will damage it further and minor lesions can become more serious. A simple examination of the feet, feeling inside the shoes before wearing them and not walking barefoot can help to prevent minor injuries. Many of the patients attending the diabetes clinic are older and some cannot see, feel or reach their feet, which means that they are often unaware of any injuries.
Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by neuropathic (nerve) and vascular (blood vessel) complications of the disease.
Nerve damage due to diabetes causes altered or complete loss of feeling in the foot and/or leg. This is known as peripheral neuropathy. Pressure from shoes, cuts, bruises, or any injury to the foot may go unnoticed. The loss of protective sensation stops the patient from being warned that the skin is being injured and may result in skin loss, blisters and ulcers.
Treatment options for all ulcers may include:
• Antibiotics, if an infection is present
• Anti-platelet or anti-clotting medications to prevent a blood clot
• Topical wound care therapies
• Compression garments
As a rule, the better the control of your diabetes, the less likely you are to develop complications such as foot ulcers. Also, where appropriate, treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, and reducing any other risk factors will reduce your risk of diabetes complications. In particular, you are strongly advised to stop smoking if you smoke.
Our feet keep us balanced and carry our weight. In a lifetime they walk as much as going five times around the earth. We should look after our feet before any of these problems creep in. Some of the serious foot problems may need the attention of a doctor. So, prevention is always better than cure.
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Groshan Fabiola |
2007-04-24 |
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Title: How to deal with stomach ulcer
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A peptic ulcer, or more commonly known as stomach ulcer, is nothing more than a small erosion in the digestive tract. There two types of peptic ulcer and those are gastric ulcer( which appears in the stomach) and the duodenal ulcer( it appears in the first 12 inches of the small intestine, immediately beyond the stomach). Studies made have shown that the second type is much more common among patients suffering from this illness. The fact is that ulcer are neither contagious nor cancerous. The case with duodenal ulcers is that they are most often benign, while on the other hand stomach ulcers may become malignant.
The spread of this disease through out people is actually quite high. This way we see that some 1 in 8 people will at some point in their lives be suffering from this disorder. This are rather chilling numbers. The size of the ulcer can very well differ from person to person; some may have an injury no bigger than small pee while others can develop severe ulcers roughly the size of an small apple.
A sad fact is that not only adults develop the disease. Children also develop ulcer, with the same painful symptoms as in grown ups.
We will now try to explain how exactly a stomach ulcer is formed. The fact is that the hydrochloric in our stomachs, responsible for dissolving the food, attacks and destroys the gastric or intestinal lining of the stomach, reaching at some point the wall of the stomach. The bacteria called Helicobacter pylori has a big role to play in the action of this disorder of the gastric tract. It is thought that it can cause both stomach and duodenal cancer. The risk exist of the transmission of the bacteria through contaminated food and water. To best fight the ravaging affects of this bacteria antibiotics are needed.
Normal natural weakening of the mucous lining protecting the stomach and small intestine cans also lead to ulcer. Other factors would be excess secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, genetic predisposition to this kind of diseases and of course psychical stress to which a person can be submitted.
Excess aspirin use and other anti-inflammatory drugs can also perturb the normal lining in the stomach. Smocking has also been proven to be a high risk in the development of the illness.
The most common symptom associated with ulcer is a burning or gnawing pain in the stomach. This can last from a few minutes to at least 3 hours. The common misinterpretation with heartburn, indigestion or hunger is wrong. Most often the pain is located in the upper abdomen but can also be traced immediately below the breath bone. Most of the patients suffering from ulcers feel the pain immediately after eating but they can also appear hours after the last meal. Drinking milk, proper eating and good rest is said to help a lot in relieving the pain.
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Groshan Fabiola |
2007-03-26 |
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Title: All about peptic ulcer
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Peptic ulcer is the medical term most frequently used to describe both gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer. Ulcer is a sore, a lesion that is open and is fond either on the skin or the parts of the body covered by mucous.
A gastric ulcer or a duodenal ulcer is an open sore in the lining of your stomach or of the duodenum, where acids are found. When you have an ulcer in your stomach, the proper medical term is gastric ulcer. If it is found in the duodenum, it is called a duodenal ulcer.
Some time ago, the cause of an ulcer was thought to be lifestyle. If you had a busy life, filled with stress and did not have time to eat properly, those were the main reasons doctors believed cause ulcer. Later, more research was made and they came to the conclusion that the amount of acid in your stomach was another strong cause of ulcer formation. This was the general thought, until an Australian researcher discovered the H pylori bacteria. This is now thought to be the main cause of an ulcer. Although, your lifestyle, acids and pepsin play a very big part in causing an ulcer, the most important cause of the ulcer is today the bacteria. Almost ninety percent of the people that suffer from an ulcer also have this bacteria in their bodies. H pylori produces some substances that have an important in weakening your stomach' s coating, which protects it. This way, the stomach is more susceptible to the effects of the acids and pepsin, leading to an ulcer. Besides this main cause of an ulcer, there are a few more factors that contributed in the development of an ulcer.
Smoking is one of those factors. Many studies have shown that if you are a smoker, the risk of developing an ulcer is greater. Furthermore, smoking slows down the healing process of your ulcer and even increases the risk of the ulcer recurrence. Caffeine is also an "friend " of the ulcer. It can stimulate the secretion of acid in your stomach, thus further agravating the already existing ulcer. Alcohol is another enemy of the life without an ulcer. There is no certain proof that alcohol and ulcer are highly related, but studies show that the number of people that suffer from a liver damage linked to consumption of alcohol also suffer from an ulcer.
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Groshan Fabiola |
2007-02-10 |
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Title: Something you should to know about peptic ulcer
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Many people are suffering from peptic ulcer.It is generally known that ulcer appears to men,but nowadays women also suffer from peptic ulcer.The peptic ulcer deals with the digestive process.For example the ulcer in the lining of the stomach is calling the gastric ulcer and the ulcer in the upper part of small intestine, or duodenum, is called a duodenal ulcer.
The lining of the stomach contains special cells, chemicals and mucous that prevent the stomach from being damaged by its own acids and digestive enzymes.The ulcer can be small or deep.The major cause of the ulcer is the bacterium H. pylori.This infection can harm only 20% of people infected.In some people, H. pylori infection somehow upsets the delicate balance between the damaging effects of gastric acids and the body's natural protection.A second common cause of ulcers can be the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn).Several factors can increase the risk of developing a peptic ulcer.These damaging factors are:cigarettes, alcohol, stress and spicy food.
The effect produced by the ulcer is the burning or gnawing pain in the upper abdomen. This typically occurs when the stomach is empty, and may be worse at night or upon waking.Other symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, bloating, burping and weight loss.In more severe cases, ulcer may bleed or extend deep into the wall of the stomach or intestine.
For diagnosis are recommended the following tests:
1) a blood antibody test for evidence of H. pylori infection.If the test is positive a treatmentmay be given without more invasive tests.In some cases the test may remain positive even aftera given treatment. Unfortunately this test cannot tell if the ulcer is produced by the H. pylori.
2) an esophagogastroduodenoscopy is made with the lighted tube with a tiny camera on the end, which is passed through the stomach and intestines.Other way of examining ulcer is the biopsy(a small piece of the lining of the stomach), which is a close examination of the tissue in a laboratory.
3) an upper-gastrointestinal(GI)series is a test which involves X-ray taken after the person drinks a chalky liquid. With this method the existence of an ulcer can be observed.
Ulcers caused by medication should stop after the person stop taking drugs and the ulcer caused by H. pylori may heal or may not.Gastric ulcer heals more slowly than duodenal ulcer. But the worse is the fact that H. pylori can return and cause another ulcer,if the first infection is not eliminated completely.
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peterhutch |
2008-03-12 |
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Title: Foot Ulcer – Types and Treatment
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A skin ulcer is where an area of skin has broken down and you can see the underlying tissue. Most skin ulcers occur on the lower legs or feet. The skin normally heals quickly if it is cut. However, in some people with diabetes the skin on the feet does not heal so well and is prone to develop an ulcer. This can be even after a mild injury such as stepping on a small stone in your bare feet.
Types of Foot Ulcer
Venous ulcers are located below the knee and are primarily found on the inner part of the leg, just above the ankle.
The borders of a venous ulcer are usually irregularly shaped and the surrounding skin is often discolored and swollen. It may even feel warm or hot.
The skin may appear shiny and tight, depending on the amount of edema (swelling). The skin may also have brown or purple discoloration about the lower leg, known as "stasis skin changes."
Neurotrophic (diabetic)
Neurotrophic ulcers are usually located at increased pressure points on the bottom of the feet. However, neurotrophic ulcers related to trauma can occur anywhere on the foot. They occur primarily in people with diabetes although they can affect anyone who has an impaired sensation of the feet.
Diabetes can cause damage to the nerve and vascular supply in the feet and legs. Patients with neuropathy have reduced or no sensation and, therefore, might be unaware of any trauma to their feet caused by ill-fitting footwear or an object in their shoes, such as a piece of glass, a stone or a drawing pin.
Continued walking on an injured foot will damage it further and minor lesions can become more serious. A simple examination of the feet, feeling inside the shoes before wearing them and not walking barefoot can help to prevent minor injuries. Many of the patients attending the diabetes clinic are older and some cannot see, feel or reach their feet, which means that they are often unaware of any injuries
Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by neuropathic (nerve) and vascular (blood vessel) complications of the disease.
Nerve damage due to diabetes causes altered or complete loss of feeling in the foot and/or leg. This is known as peripheral neuropathy. Pressure from shoes, cuts, bruises, or any injury to the foot may go unnoticed. The loss of protective sensation stops the patient from being warned that the skin is being injured and may result in skin loss, blisters and ulcers.
Treatment options for all ulcers may include:
Antibiotics, if an infection is present
Anti-platelet or anti-clotting medications to prevent a blood clot
Topical wound care therapies
Compression garments
As a rule, the better the control of your diabetes, the less likely you are to develop complications such as foot ulcers. Also, where appropriate, treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, and reducing any other risk factors will reduce your risk of diabetes complications. In particular, you are strongly advised to stop smoking if you smoke.
Our feet keep us balanced and carry our weight. In a lifetime they walk as much as going five times around the earth. We should look after our feet before any of these problems creep in. Some of the serious foot problems may need the attention of a doctor. So, prevention is always better than cure.
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