Dont lose legs to diabetes

BANGALORE:  “About 13 per cent of Bangalore’s adult population is diabetic and over 6 lakh people are facing the threat of leg amputations,” said Dr KR Suresh, director, Jain Institute of Vascular Sciences on the launch of a mobile home care unit, a satellite diabetic foot care and vascular evaluation clinic, here on Thursday.While diabetic foot diseases can affect anyone, diabetic patients are at a higher risk of contracting the disease as high blood glucose levels can damage the nerves, block  arteries and damage blood vessels.He said that even a city like Bangalore lacks adequate foot care clinics to treat the disease and added that  those patients who are unable to walk, often fail to reach hospitals for the right  and timely treatment.The mobile clinics help  patients get affordable treatment at their doorstep, he said and emphasised that two-thirds of all leg amputations in the city can be avoided with timely treatment.Symptoms of Diabetic Foot DiseaseDiabetic foot disease can start with a slight itching or an injury and can be identified by the redness in the area or tingling sensation in the foot. This can lead to an infection and ulcers in one or both the feet. These ulcers can aggravate allowing gangrene to set leading to amputation of patient’s lower limbs.The cause of this disease is improper circulation of blood in the lower limbs that may occur due to blockage of arteries. The symptoms of diabetic foot includes corns, foot ulcers, change in colour of skin, blisters, swelling, prolonged wounds, loss of sensation, constant itching and persistent pain in legs.