Man’s leg amputated after taking a ‘hot bath’ doctors point out mistake stress diabetic patients must be extra careful
Could taking a shower cause you to lose your legs forever? A real case happened to a 53-year-old man who was already diabetic.
According to Taiwanese newspaper ETToday. 53-year-old Ah Chuan suffered burns and blisters on his legs after taking a hot bath, so he applied medicine and bandaged them himself. The next day, the wound became increasingly painful, dark in color, and pus was coming out. So he rushed to the https://ufabet999.app hospital for treatment.
Doctors discovered that Ah Chuan had type 2 diabetes. But had neglected to control his blood sugar levels for a long time. Causing severe damage to the small blood vessels surrounding the nerves in his feet, and even a small cut from hot water could result in a serious wound.
Doctors removed the original wound and treated it with antibiotics. However, due to injuries to all four toes and the cancer on his leg that was still severe, at this point doctors had to “amputate” his leg to save his life.
Common risk factors for foot ulcers
Dr. Yu-Rui Chang, a physician at the Department of Metabolism at the Taiwan Veterans General Hospital, said risk factors for foot ulcers include peripheral vascular disease, neurological disease, loss of skin protection, or poor vision, which increase the risk of falls and collisions.
As high blood sugar in diabetes can easily damage blood vessels, may cause neuropathy and retinopathy, and greatly increase the risk of foot ulcers and degeneration, it is therefore important to focus on controlling blood sugar levels, protecting the skin, and getting regular check-ups early on.
Doctors say hospitals often order patients with newly diagnosed foot infections to have an X-ray of the affected area to check for bone deformity or damage and to evaluate for other abnormalities. If the wound becomes infected. It is treated with antibiotics. When a cellulitis foot wound is larger than 2 centimeters or is accompanied by swelling, pain, odor, drainage and other symptoms, it is considered a moderate or severe foot infection.
In clinical practice, it is often necessary to consult a surgeon as soon as possible to assess whether surgical intervention is necessary to avoid life-threatening complications.
Annual screening can help prevent this.
Doctors say that diabetics should be screened at least once a year to assess for peripheral vascular disease so that they can receive early treatment. In addition, controlling weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar are also important. Keeping blood sugar levels below 8.5% can effectively reduce the occurrence of complications and improve quality of life.
The doctor added that because of neuropathy, many diabetics are not sensitive enough to pain or temperature and may not easily recognize foot injuries. Patients should avoid walking barefoot or wearing sandals with thin soles. If necessary, choose therapeutic or custom-made shoes. As insoles or toe pads can prevent foot ulcers from recurring.