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Diabetic Wound Care: 6 Challenges In The Summer
Diabetic Wound Care: 6 Challenges In The Summer
Summer is here! If you are planning to participate in various outdoor activities, you might be concerned about the challenges posed by diabetic wound care. Diabetic wounds such as foot ulcers and venous ulcers can be challenging to care for, especially when you’re out in the hot sun. Understanding the issues that you may face can help you in getting your wounds to heal properly. Here are six challenges of diabetic wound care in the summer, and how to overcome them.
Keep Bandages Clean and Dry
Activities such as running, hiking, and riding a bike can introduce germs, bacteria, and moisture to your legs and feet. These can potentially get onto your bandages and transfer onto your wound. Keep your bandages clean and dry to prevent them from contaminating your wound and increasing your risk of infection. Some tips include wrapping the edges of your bandage with a layer of water-resistant tape or sticky gauze, and changing your bandages whenever they become damp. It is also a good idea to change your bandages as soon as you get home from any outdoor activities.
Minimize Contact with Bacteria
A wound is an opening in the skin that can possibly result in bacteria from the environment entering the wound and into your system. Ensure that your wound does not come into contact with substances such as sand, soil, and mud. Do not swim in or enter any open bodies of water, especially stagnant water such as in lakes. Avoid wearing open-toed footwear such as sandals and wear closed-toe shoes instead.
Maintain Proper Diet and Nutrition
Eating the right kinds of food can help in healing acute and chronic diabetic wounds. The vitamins and minerals found in certain foods can help in wound healing. Be sure to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables to give your immune system the boost it needs. Some excellent foods that help are grapefruit, citrus fruits, cabbage, ginger, mushroom, garlic, and spinach.
Stay Hydrated
It is easy to become dehydrated in the summer due to the heat. Therefore, you need to drink enough water to prevent dehydration. Staying hydrated can help your wound heal as your skin needs to have the right hydration levels to heal properly. Therefore, make sure you always have enough water on hand to avoid becoming dehydrated, which can slow down your healing process.
Reduce Sun Exposure
Whenever you step out into the sun, even for a few minutes, make sure to protect your skin from the harmful UV rays by applying sunscreen. Even if you have wounds that have already healed, applying sunscreen on healed wounds can help prevent scarring. For existing wounds, protect them using bandages to reduce exposure to direct sunlight.
Keep Your Wound from Drying Out
While excessive moisture can be detrimental to a wound, the same can be said if your wound dries out too quickly. Your wound could possibly heal from the outside in, which could trap germs and bacteria underneath the layers of your skin. Use recommended wound care products to prevent this from happening.
Indeed, diabetic wound care can be challenging, but if you follow these tips, you can be sure to minimize your wounds from getting infected and be on your way to proper healing.
By Express Med
Express Med
