What is a diabetic foot?

  The concept of diabetic foot: It refers to the lower limb infection, ulcer formation and/or deep tissue destruction in diabetic patients due to the combination of neuropathy and various degrees of peripheral vasculopathy.  Clinically, due to the long-term influence of hyperglycemia in diabetic patients, lower limb vascular sclerosis, vessel wall thickening and elasticity decline, and blood vessels are prone to thrombosis and plaque formation, resulting in lower limb vascular occlusion and nerve damage at the branch end, thus causing lower limb tissue lesions.  Pathogenesis: 1. Due to the long-term hyperglycemic state of diabetic patients, blood viscosity increases, too much blood sugar will lead to hardening, brittleness and thickening of blood vessels, the ability of blood vessel deformation decreases, and blood supply is insufficient; increased blood viscosity also leads to vascular inflammation, which can lead to the formation of thrombosis of blood vessels, resulting in occlusion of blood vessels, leading to a serious lack of blood supply, malnutrition and poor metabolism of organs, and if If the body tissues and organs are in this state for a long time, it is easy to lead to organ necrosis, because the “foot” is the farthest from the heart, the occlusion of blood vessels is the most serious phenomenon, it is easy to cause edema, blackening, decay, necrosis, the formation of foot necrosis.  2, vascular injury and occlusion, but also lead to injury tissue nerve damage, causing the limb vascular phytonuropathy so that vasomotor weakness, local tissue resistance is reduced, a small trauma can cause infection, and because of local sensory impairment, small lesions can not be treated in a timely manner, resulting in rapid expansion of the wound.  Neuropathy can cause atrophy of the small muscles of the foot, and due to long-term unopposed pulling, claw-like toes (especially the third, fourth and fifth toes) are formed. This deformity makes the metatarsal head a weight-bearing support point for the sole of the foot, and due to friction, there is callus formation, which is highly susceptible to infection and penetrating ulcers, and in severe cases, spreads to the nearby bones causing osteitis.