Diabetic foot ulcers - Causes of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Diabetic foot ulcers
DermNet NZ

Diabetic foot ulcers are sores on the feet that occur in 15% of diabetic patients some time during their lifetime. The risk of lower-extremity amputation is increased 8-fold in these patients once an ulcer develops.
What causes diabetic foot ulcers?

Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by neuropathic (nerve) and vascular (blood vessel) complications of the disease.

Nerve damage due to diabetes causes altered or complete loss of feeling in the foot and/or leg. This is known as peripheral neuropathy. Pressure from shoes, cuts, bruises, or any injury to the foot may go unnoticed. The loss of protective sensation stops the patient from being warned that the skin is being injured and may result in skin loss, blisters and ulcers.

Vascular disease is also a major problem in diabetes and especially affects very small blood vessels feeding the skin (microangiopathy). In this situation a doctor may find normal pulses in the feet because the arteries are unaffected. However other diabetic patients may also have narrowed arteries so that no pulse can be found in the feet (ischaemia). The lack of healthy blood flow may lead to ulceration. Wound healing is also impaired.