Diabetic foot ulcer precursors

Written by Luo Han Ying
Endocrinology
Updated on January 19, 2025
00:00
00:00

Diabetic foot, also known as diabetic foot disease, is a very serious complication among endocrine disorders in diabetes, with the most severe consequence being foot ulceration that cannot heal, leading to amputation, and even causing sepsis. Diabetic foot does not occur without reason; there are many warning signs before its occurrence. For example, the affected foot feels cold, it is painful to walk, and there are abnormal sensations. These signs are actually telling you that the blood vessels and nerves in the foot are already affected. Once any abnormal sensation is noticed, it is essential to seek medical attention at a hospital, and it is crucial to provide early and proactive treatment to nourish the nerves and improve circulation in order to prevent diabetic foot.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Jun Jun
Endocrinology
1min 16sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of early-stage diabetes?

If we talk about the most common symptom of early-stage diabetes, it includes dry mouth, excessive drinking, overeating, frequent urination, and weight loss. These are the most common symptoms characterized as "three excessive and one deficient" behaviors. Additionally, some patients with early-stage diabetes may not exhibit the aforementioned symptoms. They might experience blurred vision, itchy skin throughout the body, difficulty in healing wounds, overall numbness and fatigue, as well as poor mental and appetite health when they seek medical attention. When blood sugar levels are very high, the symptoms of "three excessive and one deficient" mentioned above can appear. Many diabetic patients in the early stages do not show any symptoms, such as patients who need surgery and are then found to have high blood sugar but no symptoms initially, coupled with increased blood sugar levels. Therefore, patients with early-stage diabetes might not have any symptoms, but those undergoing physical examination should regularly monitor their blood sugar levels, including both fasting and postprandial blood sugar.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Luo Juan
Endocrinology
1min 3sec home-news-image

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes, also known as pregnancy-induced diabetes, generally refers to a condition diagnosed during pregnancy where varying degrees of high blood sugar levels are detected for the first time. This includes some cases where glucose intolerance or diabetes was undiagnosed before the pregnancy. Most patients see their blood sugar levels return to normal after delivery, but regardless of whether the high blood sugar normalizes post-pregnancy, it is considered gestational diabetes. Currently, the diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes include a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test. If the fasting blood glucose level is greater than or equal to 5.1 mmol/L, the blood glucose level after one hour is greater than or equal to 10.0 mmol/L, and the blood glucose level after 120 minutes is greater than or equal to 8.5 mmol/L, then gestational diabetes can be diagnosed.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Luo Han Ying
Endocrinology
1min 8sec home-news-image

Diabetic foot ulcer precursors

Diabetic foot, also known as diabetic foot disease, is a very serious complication among endocrine disorders in diabetes, with the most severe consequence being foot ulceration that cannot heal, leading to amputation, and even causing sepsis. Diabetic foot does not occur without reason; there are many warning signs before its occurrence. For example, the affected foot feels cold, it is painful to walk, and there are abnormal sensations. These signs are actually telling you that the blood vessels and nerves in the foot are already affected. Once any abnormal sensation is noticed, it is essential to seek medical attention at a hospital, and it is crucial to provide early and proactive treatment to nourish the nerves and improve circulation in order to prevent diabetic foot.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
1min 22sec home-news-image

Symptoms of gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes refers to abnormal glucose tolerance that occurs during pregnancy. It usually involves only mild, asymptomatic hyperglycemia without the typical symptoms of diabetes such as dry mouth, excessive thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss. However, significant increases in blood sugar can lead to symptoms such as dry mouth, excessive thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss. It is important to be vigilant for gestational diabetes in patients who exhibit symptoms such as excessive amniotic fluid, a large fetus, or recurrent urinary tract infections. Therefore, it is generally recommended for pregnant patients to complete an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test) by the 24th week of pregnancy to confirm whether they have gestational diabetes. After childbirth, blood sugar levels in women with gestational diabetes generally return to normal, but the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future significantly increases. Therefore, patients with gestational diabetes should undergo diabetes screening 6 to 12 weeks postpartum and be monitored over the long term.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Yin Xing
Obstetrics
1min 5sec home-news-image

Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes

The symptoms of gestational diabetes differ from those of non-pregnancy diabetes; non-pregnancy diabetes is mainly characterized by excessive drinking, eating, urination, and weight loss. During pregnancy, excessive drinking and eating may be physiological responses due to increased appetite, and frequent urination may be caused by the enlarged uterus pressing on the bladder during early pregnancy. Weight loss is generally not apparent in gestational diabetes due to the growth of the fetus, the uterus, and the increase in amniotic fluid. For women who had a higher body mass index before pregnancy and a family history of diabetes, it is recommended to start glucose tolerance screening from the time of planning to conceive. For those who gain weight rapidly after becoming pregnant and have a significant increase in amniotic fluid, we typically conduct routine diabetes screening between 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes has severe impacts on the pregnant woman, the fetus, and the newborn, thus early detection and treatment are advised.