Today we are continuing our series on when to actually go to see your podiatrist. Today we discuss the different types of wounds we see in the office. Again we want to keep you out of the hospital and urgent care centers where all the sick people are going!
For All wounds, good advice:
- If you notice drainage on your sock go see your podiatrist
- If you know your sensation is poor, you should be checking your feet daily
- If you have a new area on your foot that is open go see your podiatrist
- Blistering and leaking fluid from your legs and feet, go see your podiatrist
- Extreme pain in the foot and an open wound go see your podiatrist
- anything out of the ordinary on your foot or ankle, go see your podiatrist
Diabetic wounds:- Usually associated with lack of protective threshold(poor sensation, so you do not feel pain and discomfort)
- The simplest thing, like wearing a shoe that is even just a little too small can cause a serious wound and problem
- Do not ignore your problem, if it looks bad but you can't feel it, that does not mean it is OK
- The best thing you can do is get in to see your podiatrist, there are sometimes very simple solutions that can save you from limb loss
Venous wounds:
- Usually, these patients present with swollen legs with fluid leaking from small or sometimes big blisters
- This is another wound type that can get serious fast, many times if you see a doctor who does not treat these types of wounds they send you to be admitted to the hospital, we are trying to keep you out of the hospital
- Sometimes simple advice, like elevate the legs can be the difference between going to the hospital or not
- There are many simple ways we can mange this in the office as well
Arterial wounds:
- Sometimes patients do not have blood flow, meaning their arteries are not getting blood to where it needs to go
- These wounds can be more complicated, as without blood flow no wound will heal
- Our job is to keep you from getting infected and help coordinate care with the vascular doctor
- We do not debride these wounds, as they can get bigger, unless there is infection with a chance of wound causing sepsis
- So take home point, go see your podiatrist before the wound gets to that point
So like all of you, we are struggling with all the new responsibilities we have had thrust upon us over the last couple of weeks. Yes, it is the worst to be cooped up at home, but it always could be worse. We are travelling back and forth every day to our office to home with our 3 children, who now have to home school, this is not the easiest task even if you have good kids! We are small business owners who understand having to work hard to make sure everything goes smoothly, or at least try to make things go smoothly! We love what we do and our very happy to help our patients and friends stay out of the hospital.
Our website has always had a dedicated page for our wounded patients. Check us out here: https://centeranklefootcare.com/wound-care.html
Stay safe everyone and remember to wash your hands and keep your distance from others.
Michele McGowan DPM and Timothy Henne, DPM
The Center for Ankle and Foot Care
3190 Citrus Tower Blvd Ste A
352-242-2502
