Understanding the Impact of Diabetes on Skin Health

Diabetes Effects On Skin

The best possible blood sugar balance is the best insurance for people with diabetes against skin problems. Even small sprains should be treated carefully so that they do not enter the body.

The skin should be well protected and cared for. The skin needs to be kept clean, but strong detergents and shampoos should be avoided so that the protective layer on the skin is not damaged. The skin must be dried thoroughly after washing.

The skin's moisture balance is maintained with suitable base creams. Light cream is enough for the face in summer, the soles of the feet need a more greasy product, especially in winter. For dry skin, a light base cream can also be used between hand and foot washing.

A diabetic’s fingertips may require a fairly greasy cream after a day’s blood sugar measurements. You should lubricate your fingertips in the evening before going to bed.

The skin is a gateway to the feet

Even the slightest skin rash can be a gateway to the feet. When the skin becomes symptomatic or broken, its cause must be determined without delay and the ailment treated with care.

Yeast fungus thrives on moist, warm, and “sugary” skin. It can cause a persistent itchy, reddening, and even ulcerative rash under the breasts, folds, nails, fingers, mouth, under the foreskin, or vagina.

The yeast is treated with topical creams, which must be used for a sufficient period.

Broken skin is a great base for bacterial infections: hair follicle infections, abscesses, and cuticle infections. Superficial bacterial infections of the skin are usually treated with topical antibacterial creams or baths.

If yeast or ringworm has broken the space between the toes, wet bacteria can enter the tissue and cause an awkward bacterial inflammation in the lower limb, the rose. Then you should go to the emergency room because the rose requires intravenous antibiotic treatment.

The balance of care affects the skin

The balance of treatment for diabetes affects different parts of the skin: blood vessels and connective tissue, the connection of the epidermis and dermis, the epidermis, hair follicles, sweat glands, and also the subcutaneous tissue.

Elevated blood sugar changes the properties of many proteins in the skin, and the skin's ability to fight infections can be impaired. Blood vessels can become inflamed and may harden, resulting in thinning and coldness of the skin of the feet, for example.

In the lower extremities, the skin sensation may be disturbed, in which case induration and abrasions may go unnoticed. Due to impaired blood circulation, skin lesions develop more easily than usual into wounds.

About one-third of diabetics develop diabetes-related skin symptoms at some point in their lives, such as itching, sensitivity to irritation, and redness. Common skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis, are less common in people with diabetes than in others.

Spots, blisters, blisters  

Sometimes a rare skin change Necrobiosis lipoidica is the first symptom of diabetes. It appears on the anterior surface of the lower leg as well-defined spots that are initially purple in hue and elevated. Then they flatten out and turn yellow. The skin can be itchy and painful, and any ulcers heal poorly.

Diabetic dermopathy appears as slightly scaly, brownish spots on the front of the legs. It results from damage to the small blood vessels and may persist even if blood sugar levels are well-managed.

Diabetic blisters or bulls are very rare. They resemble ordinary bladders and usually heal on their own in about three weeks. Blisters can appear spontaneously on the fingers, back of the hands, toes, feet, and sometimes on the legs or arms. A good blood sugar balance promotes healing.

A skin disease called ring granuloma can be a sign of impaired sugar tolerance and the onset of type 2 diabetes. It is wide-ranging, elevated, and skin-colored.

About one-third of type 1 diabetics develop sclerosis of the back of the hand: the skin of the back of the hand, sometimes the toes and forehead, becomes waxy and thick. In treatment, it is important to strive for a good blood sugar balance.

Type 1 diabetes can be associated with autoimmune skin symptoms such as vitiligo or alopecia areata and alopecia.

Skin symptoms at injection sites

Sometimes, insulin injection sites rarely develop what is called lipoatrophy, or loss of fat, which is treated with cortisone ointment. More common, however, is lipo hypertrophy, an overgrowth of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

In these cases, the insulin injection site must be changed.

If an urticaria-like bump occurs repeatedly at the insulin injection site, it is important to determine if it is an allergic reaction. The cause of the allergy may be, for example, a preservative in the insulin pen, sometimes rarely the insulin itself. In this case, the product must be changed.

Sometimes the adhesive of a blood sugar sensor causes a contact allergy to natural resin, for example. The matter needs to be clarified by skin tests at the dermatology unit to be able to choose a sensor that does not contain an allergenic adhesive. The skin reaction is treated with cortisone ointment.