In this short chapter we present you with some key points about preventing and treating diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic foot ulcers can often be managed well, even in low-resource settings.  usually you do not need fancy dressings.  Often the biggest challenge is to find material to use for off-loading the foot. 

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This chapter is still in the making :)

Before we make our plan for how to off-load the ulcer and which dressing to choose, we have to examine the ulcer.  This includes debridement of the wound to be able to assess the severity of the ulcer. 

Most diabetic foot ulcers are in pressure-prone areas of the foot. Off-loading is the key principle to treating these wounds successfully

While off-loading is the most essential part of the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, choosing the right type of dressing is of course also important.  Many types of dressings perform well here. Often we choose dressings with antibacterial properties to prevent serious foot infections. 

In difficult cases we sometimes have to utilize more advanced treatments to save a limb.  In this chapter we discuss modalities like negative pressure therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, topical oxygen therapy, platelet- rich plasma treatment to name a few.  

Charcot foot is a severe complication that we sometimes see in diabetic foot patients. It is essential that you are able to recognize the early signs of this condition and know how to treat it.

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We are still working on this chapter - we will inform you on the main page as soon as this is available. 

This chapter should really be at the start of this topic.  We have however placed it down here because most of our readers want a solution to a foot ulcer the patient already has.  This is an important chapter and we hope that you will find some time to scroll through this too. 

Here we have collected a number of questions we are frequently asked.  The chapter is not ready yet- we are working on it :)

Are you looking for other resources to learn more about diabetic foot in Africa?  We have collected some useful links here.