Patient/caregiver were instructed on the contribution of compromised kidney function for development and poor healing of diabetic foot ulcers as follows:
- Poorly controlled blood sugars in diabetic patients over time result in increased production of toxic inflammatory chemicals in the body.
- Normally functioning kidneys can help eliminate these toxic chemicals and reduce the risk of body’s exposure to them.
- Compromised renal function can reduce elimination of these inflammatory chemicals, leading to increased accumulation of them in the body.
- Chronic exposure of the nerve tissue to these accumulated inflammatory chemicals lead to progressive damage to the nerves, impair the ability of nerves to communicate various signals, and compromise a diabetic individual’s response upon exposure to various sensations, such as, touch, pain, and temperature changes.
- For this reason, individuals with poorly controlled diabetes are often unable to detect the insult to their lower extremities and many wounds go unnoticed before they get infected and turn complicated.
- This can predispose an individual to increased risk for skin integrity, and development of and/or poor healing of diabetic ulcers.
- Also, compromised pain sensitivity in the extremities of poorly controlled diabetics allows these individuals to continue ambulating around on an ulcerated area of the foot, thus exposing the site to increased risk for infection and poor healing.
