The Effect of Diabetes on Healing

Diabetes compromises the immune system, increasing the risk of skin and nerve damage and putting patients at increased risk of developing infected wounds that are slow to heal. Complications from clogged arteries, another diabetes-linked condition, can lead to infectious wounds as well. Drugs and lifestyle changes prescribed to control blood sugar can help prevent and treat these problems.

Diabetes Definition

• People inherit or develop diabetes—high blood sugar—when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body can’t use it properly. Lack of insulin prevents the sugar from entering cells, so it enters the bloodstream. People are born with or develop type 1 diabetes because their bodies destroy the insulin the pancreas produces. They require injections of insulin to control blood sugar levels. People with type 2 diabetes have reduced insulin leves or their bodies don’t use it properly; this condition usually develops in adulthood and can often be controlled through diet modification and exercise.

Wound Development

• Lack of insulin production or use interferes with cell growth and energy production, reducing the body’s ability to heal. Thus, people whose diabetes is uncontrolled are at increased risk of contracting skin infections if a cut or puncture is exposed to bacteria, a fungus or yeast. They also tend to have dry, itchy skin, which can lead to scrapes and cuts.

  Nerve damage, another common side effect, can hinder detection of broken skin or blisters. Nerve damage can also cause the diabetic patient to walk abnormally, triggering calluses which can worsen into skin ulcers, the Columbia University Medical Center explains.

Impact on Healing

• Diabetes challenges the body’s immune system, reducing its ability to fight infection. As a result, even minor skin damage can become infected easily, leading to open, festering sores that take a long time to heal.

Arterial Complications

• People with diabetes are also more likely to develop clogged arteries and often at an earlier age than others. When the condition impedes blood flow to the legs and feet it's called peripheral arterial disease (PAD). This condition is a major cause of skin damage, infected wounds and poor healing rates.

  PAD can cause pain in the legs, feet or toes, which can worsen while walking and interrupt sleep, Diabetes Self Management reports. The condition can also cause fatigue or cramping in the buttocks, thighs or calves. About 50 percent of people who have PAD don’t develop symptoms due to nerve damage.

Tooth/Gum Problems

• Diabetes also causes tooth and gum decay, which can cause bleeding and tooth loss, another trigger for infection, the American Diabetes Association warns.

Prevention/Treatment

• Control blood sugar levels and any other health conditions, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, to avoid stressing the immune system and developing wounds or infections. People with diabetes should also examine their feet every day for skin breaks or rashes and wear shoes that don’t chafe or hit pressure points. To protect skin, wash it in warm, not cold or hot, water and avoid soaking for extended periods to keep skin from drying out, Columbia University Medical School advises. Rubbing calluses with a wet pumice stone will slough off the rough, hard skin and prevent them from ulcerating. Skin ulcers should be treated by a physician.

  PAD can be treated with a variety of prescription diabetes medications. A diet designed to control blood sugar, reduce cholesterol and blood pressure will help to prevent and treat it as well. Other healthy lifestyle habits, such as exercise and abstinence from tobacco use, are also indicated. People who smoke are four times more likely to develop the condition than those who don’t, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute reports.