Leg swelling and Diabetes

If one wears a compression hose just as a support hose then acute swelling of the leg can be protected

Leg swelling and Diabetes

Diabetics can develop problems with circulation in the lower legs, and swelling of the lower leg is usually the first sign of it. For starters, she should be wearing compression hose- much like support hose, which will help prevent some of the pooling of blood and reduce the swelling. She should also stay mostly in flat heeled shoes, and try not standing in one spot for long periods of time. If she has a job that requires she stand, she should make a point of bending one leg slightly upwards, and then the other- every so often, at least once or so every half hour.

The other thing is to get off the feet and raise the legs to a horizontal position in front of her. Then you can massage her lower legs, from the toes up towards the knee in long strokes. That will help redistribute the fluid in the leg. Although her legs should be in compression hose, her feet should be in loose fitted shoes- at least wide enough that they don't compress the foot at all. Tie shoes are easiest to adjust as needed, if the foot starts to swell. And she also needs to see her doctor to see if there is anything they need to do to help. Sometimes they will prescribe diuretics to help remove excess fluid But she also needs to have the circulation in the lower legs evaluated to see exactly what is going on.

The body’s sensitivity to insulin increases automatically which also has the potential to cause the diseases related to: Kidney disorders; Obstruction of the veins; cardiovascular diseases of the heart etc. The insulin in the bloodstream damages the delicate nerves and veins endings reaching straight to the end of the feet and blood vessels thickens in size which let your leg to swell as if it is injured. With relatively low blood supply to the delicate veins of the feet it is hard to let the oxygen reach the leg mixed with the bloodstreams and it in turn becomes less effective to heal the infections by fighting the cause therein. The serious complication related to leg and diabetes is when the swelling appeared to have caused more trouble by taking a prolonged period of time to heal itself automatically and a demand of a surgery or operation is recommended.

If a patient is diabetic in nature then he/she must take utmost care of the simple blisters; cuts; sores; bacterial infections; bruises; bumps and toe-nail complications etc. A patient can protect the feet while covering the toe with petroleum jelly or any cold cream. The raised toe-nails should be cut immediately as it prevents other finger tips to swell itself if disproportionate pressure is mounted over the tip of the toe-nail. The pedicure specialists suggests the diabetic patient not to visit the beaches bare-foot as dirt and dust could penetrate inside deep into the leg letting leg to swell.

A crossed leg sitting position is extremely harmful especially for a diabetic patient because the crossed-sitting position cuts the flow of blood to the leg making it to swell even in certain cases tobacco consumption in excess could accede to swelling of the feet due to improper blood and oxygen supply. If a leg is injured a use of hypoallergenic tape can be wrapped in and around the leg to protect it from bacterial infection. An extra precaution is necessary for any forms of frostbites as caused due to hypothermia where a warm water of the temperature 98 degree Celsius to 104 F is the moderate temperature for the feet to heal without rubbing or scrubbing the surface of the leg.