Why Foot Wound Care Is Essential to a Healthy Recovery

Your feet and ankles are at the bottom of an uphill flow of blood returning to the heart and lungs during the day, when you’re upright. That’s not a problem if you’re active and in good health, since your body needs the assistance of leg muscles to help pump blood through the veins. 

When you have reduced blood flow in your legs, though, a common condition with aging or with certain conditions like diabetes, both veins and nerve tissue can be working at less than peak efficiency. When an ulcer or other wound appears, healthy recovery may be a challenge. 

Dr. Dominick Mastracco and his team at Mastracco Foot & Ankle can help you with wound care recovery, regardless of the condition affecting your feet and lower legs.

Ulcers

Ulcers are perhaps more commonly associated with the digestive system for many, with stomach ulcers likely being the first connection most people make. However, medically, an ulcer is any break in an epithelial (outer) surface, like the skin, body lining, or external organ layer. 

Therefore, a wound on your foot, ankle, or lower leg qualifies as an ulcer. Often, foot and leg ulcers originate from conditions inside your body, though it’s possible for a cut or scrape of the skin to become ulcerated. 

Common reasons for foot ulcers

Ulcers that originate from inside the body often start with circulation issues. Blood pools in the lower legs due to the effects of gravity compounded by other contributing factors, such as extra body mass, sedentary lifestyle, and illnesses that include diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, and varicose veins. 

Pools of blood near the skin’s surface start to cause changes to the skin, and without treatment can eventually break through, creating wounds that resist healing. These wounds may or may not be painful. 

Diabetic wounds

Elevated blood sugar levels, associated with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, affect nerves as well as blood vessels. A common problem for diabetics is the presence of wounds on the bottoms of their feet that produce no sensation. They may be unaware there’s a slow-healing ulcer present. 

Called neurotrophic ulcers, these usually form at pressure points, where your feet bear the most weight. Without treatment, neurotrophic ulcers can become serious problems. 

Why foot wound care is essential to a healthy recovery

Dedicated care of a foot wound is important, since many ulcers won’t heal without elevated attention to the wound. The wound can become an entry point for infection and even gangrene, in severe cases. 

Careful inspection, cleaning, and dressing of a foot wound is a minimum level of daily care. Keeping your foot clean and dry reduces infection risk as well as promotes healing conditions. In addition, we may prescribe antibiotics to help you fight existing infections, as well as offer other treatment measures, such as orthotics or compression wraps. 

In severe cases, surgery may be recommended to help your ulcer recover. Foot wounds can take weeks or months to heal, even with Dr. Mastracco’s care. Without effective treatment, a foot wound can sometimes lead to amputation. 

Add Mastracco Foot & Ankle to your diabetes care team, or visit us any time you have a foot wound condition that needs extra attention. Book your visit to our North Canton, Ohio, office, online or by phone, today.