
5 Wound Care Mistakes That Keep Diabetic Ulcers from Healing

When you develop diabetic ulcers, they require special care beyond a normal cut on your foot. Unlike ordinary cuts, diabetic wounds are slow-healing open sores that can be difficult to detect before they reach an advanced stage.
Without proper ulcer wound care at Podiatry Hotline Foot & Ankle in Mission Viejo, California, you’re at risk for developing severe and life-changing complications, including gangrene, limited mobility, and even amputation. Find out from podiatrists Thomas Rambacher, DPM, FACFAS, FAPWCA, and Amber O’Connor, DPM, what the top five wound care mistakes are and what to do instead.
1. Not regularly checking your feet
Discovering diabetic ulcers is more challenging than noticing a typical cut. People with diabetes commonly have peripheral neuropathy, a condition that reduces sensations in their hands and feet.
This condition makes it more difficult for people with diabetes to feel the pain and discomfort associated with developing a cut on their foot. As a result, if you have diabetes, you need to check your feet daily for cuts, cracks, and blisters.
Putting off foot checks can mean discovering ulcers at a more advanced stage, making them more dangerous and complicated to treat.
2. Putting weight on a diabetic ulcer
Our team recommends treating many diabetic ulcers by offloading, or keeping weight off them. Depending on the location and severity of the wound, offloading can include:
- Padding
- Medical-grade custom orthotics
- Diabetic shoes
- Braces
- Crutches
Failing to follow an offloading routine correctly irritates your foot, slowing the healing time and increasing your risk of infections.
3. Cleaning wounds and changing dressings incorrectly
Diabetic wounds need to stay clean and dry to facilitate their healing process. We show you how to carefully clean an ulcer and apply dressings and medications.
Ulcers that are dirty or covered by unclean dressings can get infected and get dirt and grime stuck in them, which requires a procedure to remove. Always clean the wound on schedule and as described, and don’t use any dressings or medications not prescribed by our team.
4. Not managing your blood sugar levels
You’re at a greater risk of developing diabetic ulcers and complications from ulcers if your diabetes is poorly controlled. High blood sugar makes neuropathy and poor blood circulation worse.
We recommend you work with a primary care doctor or diabetes specialist to manage your diabetes. Our team’s diabetic foot care works best when we and your other doctors work together to keep your whole body as healthy as possible.
5. Trying to treat diabetic ulcers yourself
Unlike regular minor cuts, diabetic ulcers always need specialist podiatry care. Our team recommends different care plans, including conservative care and minimally invasive surgery, to treat individual ulcers.
We also recommend coming in for regular diabetic foot checks, even if you have no ulcers. These checks help keep diabetic ulcers from developing and recurring.
Keeping to a care plan for diabetic ulcers, as well as managing your diabetes in general, gives you the best chance of avoiding severe complications and keeping more ulcers from developing. Contact us to book an appointment for diabetic ulcer and wound care.
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