Learn about diabetic wound care, ulcer treatment, and prevention tips from the experts at Deniel Foot & Ankle Center
Did you know that your feet have more sweat glands than your armpits?
That’s right—while you are stressing over underarm sweat, your feet are quietly winning the moisture Olympics. But here is the not-so-fun part: if you have diabetes, those hardworking feet are ground zero for serious trouble. What starts as a tiny cut snowball turns into a nightmare scenario if ignored. Let us walk through the scary-but-true timeline of untreated wounds and diabetes, and how to slam the brakes on disaster with expert diabetic wound care from our Houston podiatrist at Deniel Foot & Ankle Center.
Stage 1: The “It’s Just a Little Cut” Phase
You bump your foot on the coffee table. No big deal, right? Except with diabetes, minor injuries are anything but minor. High blood sugar numbs nerves (neuropathy), so you might not feel the wound. Meanwhile, poor circulation means your body’s repair crew arrives late to the job site.
Houston podiatrist tip: Check your feet daily like you’re searching for Waldo because red spots, blisters, or cracks need immediate attention.
That innocent cut is now a VIP lounge for bacteria. Warm, moist environments (hello, sweaty feet!) are their favorite nightclub. Since diabetes weakens your immune system, infections spread faster than gossip in a small town. You notice swelling, warmth, or a funky odor—your foot’s version of a smoke alarm.
Diabetic foot ulcersoften start here. When left untreated, the infection digs deeper, like a stubborn weed with roots.
Stage 3: The “Why Is There a Hole in My Foot?” Moment
The infection tunnels into muscles, tendons, or bones (osteomyelitis). Now you have got a crater that will not close, despite your best efforts with bandages and prayers. Pus, blackened edges, or fever mean the infection’s throwing a rager.
This is your last exit before the amputation highway.
Stage 4: Amputation—The Worst-Case Scenario
Every 20 seconds, someone loses a limb to diabetes. Let that sink in. It is not just “other people”—it could be you if wounds and diabetes are not managed aggressively. Amputation starts with a toe, but like destructive dominoes, it can lead to losing the foot or leg.
The good news? This is 100% preventable with diabetic wound care.
How to Stop the Timeline in Its Tracks
Treat Every Wound Like a Three-Alarm Fire
No “wait and see.” Clean it, cover it, and call your Houston podiatrist. At Deniel Foot & Ankle Center, we have debridement tools (fancy word for removing dead tissue) and antibiotic therapies to shut down infections fast.
Become a Blood Sugar Ninja
Uncontrolled glucose is like pouring gasoline on a wound. Work with your doctor to keep levels steady—your feet will thank you.
Upgrade Your Footwear Game
Skip the flip-flops. Diabetic shoes with extra depth and soft linings prevent blisters and pressure points. (Yes, they can be stylish.)
Schedule Regular Foot “Check-Ups”
Even if nothing hurts, see us every 2–3 months. We’ll spot trouble before you feel it—like a mechanic checking your car’s brakes before they fail.
Houston, We Have Solutions
At Deniel Foot & Ankle Center, we specialize in rescuing feet from the brink. From diabetic foot ulcers to stubborn infections, our team uses cutting-edge treatments like:
Do not wait until you are staring down amputation. If your foot’s sending SOS signals—pain, color changes, slow-healing sores—call us today. The best way to avoid losing a limb is to never start down that path in the first place.
Your feet carry you through life. Let us keep them in the game.
(And maybe lay off the barefoot walks—sweat glands or not, your feet deserve armor.)
Venous ulcers, often found on the legs and ankles, are persistent, painful wounds that develop from chronic venous insufficiency—a condition where veins struggle to return blood back to the heart. While venous ulcers are commonly known as wounds that are slow to heal, there’s more to understand about managing them effectively and, importantly, preventing them in the first place. This guide offers insights into what causes venous ulcers, their impact on daily life, and strategies to help prevent them or speed up healing.
Developing a non-healing wound can be one of the most serious and devastating complications for a diabetic patient. These wounds or open sores are also called diabetic ulcers, and they frequently occur on the foot. Diabetic foot ulcers are prone to infections, and this puts patients at a higher risk of hospitalization and need for surgery or amputation.
Making healthy food, checking your blood sugar, taking time to be active, keeping up with doctor’s appointments, and taking medicines are some of the things diabetic patients manage. However, through this busy schedule, the feet are the last thing to be remembered but daily diabetic foot care will help prevent diabetic foot complications.
It is common for people with diabetes to have foot problems. It is scarier when you think of losing a foot, toe, or leg especially when you know someone who has lost any limps to diabetes complications. However, with diabetic foot care, managing your glucose levels, and regular visits to a podiatrist for diabetics, chances of experiencing diabetic foot problems are reduced. Half of the diabetic patients experience nerve damage, mostly happening in their legs and feet.
A wound occurs when the internal tissue is exposed to the skin, due to an external or internal injury. Most people conduct wound care at home but consult a podiatrist for proper diabetic wound care. Seek diabetic foot ulcer treatment from a podiatrist to avoid the development of complications that may lead to hospitalization of patients. Foot ulcers for diabetic patients can lead to amputation if wound care treatment is not well done.
Wound care treatment
There are basic principles for wound care; ensure you wear protective gear when attending to a wound.
Hemostasis – Applied to significant wounds with bleeding to stop the bleeding. The bleeding is stopped by reducing the bleeding or aiding the hemostasis process. Some of the techniques used include elevation, suturing, pressure, or tourniquet.
Cleaning the wound – This promotes healing and reduces the infection. Five main steps of wound cleaning are
Disinfect all around the wound without getting detergents and alcohol into the injured area.
Decontaminate by removing foreign bodies from the wound.
Debride any tissues around the wound.
Wet the wound with saline if no obvious contamination can be seen. Saline should be stored in a sterile container.
For heavily soiled wounds, open foot fractures, puncture wounds, and animal bites use antibiotics. It is advisable to introduce antibiotics at the first sign of wound infection.
Skin closure – This aids the wound healing using skin adhesive strips, tissue adhesive glue, sutures, and staples are some skin closure techniques for the edge of the wounds.
Dress the wound – This effectively reduces contamination and infection of the injury. When dressing, the first layer should be saline-soaked, followed by an absorbent material layer to attract wound exudates. Finally, use a soft gauze to secure the dressing in place. It is advisable to get tetanus immunization if not already done.
Patients using insulin are at a higher risk of developing a foot ulcer. Also, for overweight people or people who use alcohol and tobacco the risk is high. A diabetic foot ulcer develops due to lack of feeling in the foot, trauma, foot deformities, and irritation. Pain may not be felt by diabetic patients. Seek podiatric medical care for diabetic foot ulcer treatment. This reduces the risk of wound infection leading to amputation. To appropriately treat a diabetic foot ulcer, ensure that you:
Prevent infections.
Offload or take the pressure off the wound.
Regularly remove dead tissue and skin from the wound.
Apply dressing and medication to the ulcer.
Manage blood glucose under tight control to avoid ulcer infection.
Clean the wound daily and dress it.
Ensure adequate circulation on the ulcerated area with the help of a podiatrist.
Surgical treatment – If other ulcer treatments are not effective, surgical management may be used to correct deformities and shave or excision the bone.
The time needed for healing depends on different factors including wound care management used and the diabetic foot ulcer treatment used.
Over at DeNiel Foot and Ankle Center located in Houston, Texas, and covering surrounding areas like Cypress, and Katy, TX. Ejodamen Shobowale, DPM and her highly skilled staff provide personalized comprehensive care for all your podiatry and sport medicine needs. Whether the issue is foot-related like hammertoes, or toenail fungus or involves pain in the heel , nerves, or joints, Dr. Sho, as she is fondly called, can get you back on your feet in no time.
It is common for people with diabetes to have 
