How to treat a foot ulcer?

If you discover an ulcer or a change on your feet, it is important that you have it assessed immediately by your doctor, nurse or chiropodist.
For example, it may be a blister, a crack or a ulcer that has developed.
The specialist will then carefully examine what is wrong and make a plan for further treatment.
You will often be referred to a hospital with a special foot team.

You will then have to work together to find out how the injury has occurred.

An injury to the foot most often occurs due to some pressure or trauma on the foot.
For example, your shoe may chafe or you may walk around with a stone in your shoe.

Only when you know the cause of the injury can perhaps remove it and thus ensure that the ulcer does not develop further and gets worse.

When your ulcer is heal, pressure must be removed and it must not be disturbed.
This means that nothing should put pressure on the ulcer when standing or when walking.
You may need to wear special shoes or have an insert.
You will be given these at the hospital.
You may also need to stay still for a while.
You can see more in the film “How do I take pressure off a foot ulcer?”.

If there is redness, swelling, or perhaps pus from your ulcer, it may be due to inflammation.
You will therefore have a bacterial sample taken from the ulcer, and we call this a swabbing.

Often you will then subsequently be put on treatment with antibiotics.

Your ulcer must also be thoroughly cleaned.
If there is dead tissue or hard skin in or around the ulcer, it is important that it is removed and trimmed by a professional, so that the ulcer can heal from both the edge and the bottom.

A small probe will also be used to examine the depth of your ulcer.
If your ulcer is deep, an x-ray will reveal if there is osteomyelitis (bone inflammation).

A plaster or dressing will be put on to keep it clean and protect it against inflammation of the ulcer.

Your treatment provider will make a plan for how often it needs to be changed and inspected and treated.
You also receive a plan for how often you need to visit your chiropodist and whether you need a home nurse to treat your ulcer at home.

It is incredibly important that you follow the plan and are patient.
The more you take care of your ulcer and take the various precautions, the faster it will heal.

You can see what you can do yourself if you get a foot ulcer in the film “Caring for a foot ulcer - what can I do myself?”.

For more information go to www.helbredsprofilen.dk