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| Skin Care |  People with diabetes have to devote special attention to their skin. It must be so because they are at high risk to develop skin problems because of decreased nerve sensitiveness and circulation to the extremities. Their condition can make it hard to identify skin problems.
High blood glucose leads to the loss of fluid in your body. This can cause to dry skin on your legs, feet, elbows, and other areas. Dry skin cracks and lets germs into your body that can cause infections. That’s why it is very important to take good care of your skin.
Skin Care Tips
- After washing with a mild soap and lukewarm water, make sure you rinse and dry yourself well. Watch areas under your arms, between your legs and toes.
- Keep moist condition of your skin by using cream or lotion after washing.
- For keeping your skin moist and healthy drink lots of fluid.
- Wear cotton underwear. It will allow air to get to your skin.
- Check your body after washing. You have to make sure that you haven’t dry, red, or sore spots that can cause infection.
- Wear gloves when you do work that may injure your hands, for example when your work in the garden.
- Use sunscreen and good sense to avoid sunburn.
- Avoid frostbite by dressing warmly. Try not go out in very cold weather for long periods of time.
- Cure injuries quickly. Wash all cuts and scrapes with soap and water. Then cover them with a dry, sterile bandage.
If you have any skin problems, see your doctor immediately.
Diabetics’ Skin Problems
- Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum (NLD) usually occurs on the shanks and appears insensibly over a period of weeks. It is a patch of plaque that may be yellow-brown to purple, with a clear border. The skin of this area may get thin and ulcerate. It usually cures, often leaving a brownish depressed scar. This condition is associated more with type 1 diabetes than type 2; the cause is unknown.
- Diabetic dermopathy, also known as shin spots, has smaller injuries round at the edges. When they cure, they leave a similar scar as NLD.
- Bullosis diabeticorum are nodules of different sizes underneath the skin. They may burst. Their cause is unknown.
- Acanthosis nigricans has dark brown to black injuries on the skin. This condition is more common among African Americans and Hispanics.
If you have noticed any of these injuries, see your healthcare provider or a dermatologist who deals with diabetic skin conditions.
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