How Diabetes Affects Your Skin

As all diabetics know, diabetes can have a negative impact on the health of the skin. High blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) are the cause of most of the skin problems related to diabetes. Skin conditions are a key element covered in diabetes treatment in Rockville, MD.

Many diabetics suffer from red, dry, and irritated skin, which is caused by damage to nerves (diabetic neuropathy), particularly nerves in the legs and feet. Damaged nerves struggle to send the message to perspire, and perspiration helps to keep skin moist and soft. Additionally, when skin is dry, it often cracks and peels, and can be quite itchy. Scratching can create small openings in the skin, and those provide easy access for germs to get under the skin, where excess sugar in the blood provides a perfect place for them to multiply.

When patients receive diabetes treatment, they also receive education on the many other skin problems associated with diabetes, such as:

Acanthosis Nigricans - Characterized by dark patches of skin around the neck, armpits, groin, and sometimes on the knees, elbows, and hands.

Bullosis Diabeticorum (Diabetic Blisters) - Painless and sometimes large, these blisters arise spontaneously on the tops and sides of the lower legs and feet, or sometimes on the hands or the forearms.

Diabetic Dermopathy - Scaly light brown or red patches that can appear on the fronts of the legs. They resemble age spots and sometimes are called skin spots.