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Posted November 18, 2018 by Drazen Petrinec, M.D. Summa Health Vascular Surgery
Type 2 diabetes is at an all-time high in the United States. One of three types of diabetes - a disease that causes your blood glucose levels to rise higher than normal - type 2 has a direct correlation with your choices in diet and the amount of physical activity you do on a regular basis.
Did you know that the CDC estimates 40 percent of all US adults have type 2 diabetes? Another staggering statistic: 50 percent of all U.S. Hispanics will develop this disease and they are twice as likely to die from it. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes and 1 in 4 don’t even know they have it.
A majority of the food we consume is turned into blood sugar that our bodies use or store for energy. The pancreas makes a hormone known as insulin to help get the blood sugar into our body’s cells. A diabetic’s body has either stopped making enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin as well as before. When that happens, the blood sugar begins to build up and it can lead to some serious complications: heart disease, vision loss, nerve damage, chronic kidney disease, gout and wounds that don’t heal or take much longer to heal.
More than 1 in 3 adults have prediabetes, which means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. With lifestyle changes, an individual can hit the brakes on developing type 2. However, the long-term body damage can begin in this prediabetic stage. In this “pre” stage it is very important for an individual to make changes to diet, begin or reevaluate your fitness plan and maintain a healthy weight. Prediabetes affects both children and adults but can be mitigated with the same lifestyle changes.
Bumps, bruises and scratches are a part of our daily life. But for individuals with type 2 diabetes, a wound can turn very serious very fast. Hispanics have an elevated risk for developing the disease and according to the CDC, statistically less likely to seek medical care or implement lifestyle changes when necessary.
How does type 2 diabetes affect the wound healing?
Making healthy lifestyle changes is one of the best tools a type 2 diabetic can use to control the disease. A few additional tips to help heal wounds quickly and prevent infection:
If you experience any tingling, burning, loss of sensation, serious pain or swelling, see a doctor immediately. You should also consult your doctor if you do not see the wound healing or improving after a week.
Any patient with a wound that has not begun to heal within 2 weeks or is not completely healed in 5 weeks may benefit from participation in wound care therapy. Summa Health Wound Care offers a supportive, patient-centered and team-based approach to wound care therapy. By partnering with referring physicians, we assist patients with learning how to manage their condition and heal their wounds. Call one of our convenient locations. In Akron call 330.375.6363 and in Barberton call 330.615.3906.
Dr. Drazen Petrinec
Vascular Surgery