12 Common Diabetic Skin Problems and Key Indicators of Diabetes on the Skin

12 Common Diabetic Skin Problems and Key Indicators of Diabetes on the Skin

Have you been diagnosed with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes? They may not even know that they have diabetes before they see these signs on their skin. Treating skin infections timely is very important; otherwise, it may progress. It may be very difficult to treat, especially when you have. Today, I'm talking about 12 signs of poor diabetes control or insulin resistance on your skin. Let's get into it!

Have you been diagnosed with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes? There are 12 signs that you have to look out for. Hi, everyone! Your health is our priority, and Healthy Nation’s committed team has years of experience leading people toward healthier lives, especially when it comes to effective diabetes management. Today, we are talking about skin manifestations of diabetes or insulin resistance. As you know, the skin is one of the many organs that can be affected by diabetes.

Diabetics who notice their skin being irritated by diabetes may have high blood sugars due to uncontrolled diabetes, or they may not even know that they have diabetes before they see these signs on their skin. Make sure you watch the entire video because I promise you will learn something new and amazing today that will come in handy later. I hope you never have it, but if you see it on someone, you may alert them.

I'll give you a few tips about how to self-care about some of the conditions that I'm going to talk about, and they're going to be spread around this article. So, you better read the entire article if you want to get all the tips and tricks. I'm sure you will appreciate hearing all this. Now, it's important to see your diabetes doctor and dermatologist occasionally if you're seeing any of the following signs.

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Okay, Let’s Dive Into The Common Diabetic Skin Problem Signs:

1. Skin patches that are yellow, reddish, or brown. In other words, we call this lipoidica necrobiosis. These are small raised firm bumps that resemble pimples, common symptoms of that disorder. These pimples become bloated, hard patches of skin as time goes on. Yellow, reddish, or brown spots can also appear in time. Necrobiosis lipoidica is characterized by red, puffy, and hard patches on the legs. You may also notice that the skin around it may have a gleaming, porcelain-like finish. The blood vessels can also be seen, and your skin can be irritated and inflamed. This skin condition goes through phases of activity and inactivity or sometimes reactivation. So, again, necrobiosis lipoidica is a medical term for this. I will say take action now if you have not been diagnosed with diabetes or if you have uncontrolled diabetes. You need to either get tested or control your diabetes better. Make sure you work with your doctor to improve your diabetes management. Although necrobiosis lipoidica is not harmful, it can cause difficulties, and it is not very serious.
2. Velvety feeling that there are darker patches of skin that may indicate that you may have too much insulin in your body. If you have a black or brown patch of velvety skin, it could be on the back of your neck, under your armpits, or groin, or elsewhere. And this is very common with pre-diabetes as well. Yes, we’re talking about acanthosis nigricans. That’s the medical name for the skin disorder. Acanthosis nigricans is going to cause darker skin as you talk on the neck and especially in the creases of your skin and may be the first indicator of diabetes or insulin resistance.
3. Skin that is hardening and thickening, well, we call that digital sclerosis, a medical term for that. And it affects the fingers; it can affect your toes or both. On your hands, the back of your hands will have a tight, waxy skin. Fingers actually can stiffen, and it can become even more difficult to move if your diabetes has been inadequately managed for years. It can feel like you have pebbles in your fingertips as well. Your skin will be hard and thick in this condition, and it can be swollen-looking as well. And it can expand to your forearms and upper arms as well. It can appear on the upper back, sometimes the shoulders, and neck occasionally. The thickening of the skin can sometimes expand over to your face, shoulder, and chest, and that’s not fun. Now, the skin around the knees, ankles, and elbows can occasionally thicken in rare situations, making it difficult to straighten your leg point your foot bend your arm, and so forth. The thicker skin often has the texture of an orange peel wherever it appears. People with diabetic complications and difficult-to-treat diabetes are more likely to develop this condition. So, if you have this, make sure you inform your diabetes doctor about the thickness of your skin. Taking better control of your diabetes can make you feel better. Again, alpha-lipoic acid, benfotiamine, etc., will be helpful in this condition as well. Physical therapy may be sometimes required if you have physical limitations or it can help you preserve your ability to bend and straighten your joints when the thickened skin develops, especially on your fingers toes, or other joints.
4. Blisters: It is kind of uncommon for people with diabetes may develop blisters on their skin. It can be a huge blister, a group of blisters, or both can be visible. The blisters appear typically on the hands, feet, legs, or forearms and resemble those that appear after a severe burn. These blisters are not typically painful, unlike the blisters that form after a burn. So, it’s just gonna look like a balloon on top of your skin. Okay, so we call this bullosis diabeticorum the medical term just to make it fancy, right? It’s complicated, or we call this diabetic bullae if you want to consider its nickname. Those blisters should be reported to your doctor because you will want to take precautions to avoid infection. So, I would say consult with your primary care doctor or your podiatrist or your dermatologist or if you have a diabetes coach and get some advice on how to effectively manage your diabetes and that blister.
5. Infections on the skin: If you’re experiencing a lot of yeast infections if you are experiencing any sort of impaction if you’re prone to infection, then you may have diabetes or uncontrolled diabetes. If you have a skin infection, you will notice one or more of these things: your skin will be hot, it will be swollen, and it will be uncomfortable. You may also notice an itchy rash with small blisters. Your skin can be dry and scaly, and discharges are common. It can be pus or cottage cheese appearing. Discharge is possible with skin infections. It can happen anywhere on your body, but it’s more common between your toes, around one or more nails, or even your scalp. Keeping your toes or toenails dry is extremely important to prevent fungal infections. Treating skin infections timely is very important; otherwise, it may progress. It may be very difficult to treat, especially when you have diabetes and uncontrolled diabetes with high blood sugars, guys. And if you have been diagnosed with diabetes, sometimes you require more effective treatments or bigger antibiotics or more antibiotics or longer duration of antibiotics, etc.
6. Open wounds and sores: This is a little more than an infection; it doesn’t have to be infected, but if you have poor circulation or nerve damage, this could be from uncontrolled diabetes in most cases. Then you may develop these wounds or deep ulcers. Your body’s ability to repair the simple ones may be hampered because of poor circulation and nerve damage. As a result, when you have a little lesion, it becomes complicated and gets deeper and deeper and turns into an ulcer, an open lesion that is prone to infection. So, if you have diabetes, you should inspect your feet for sores and open wounds daily. Don’t expect your doctor or nurse to check your feet every three to six months because if you have a lesion, it may get worse within a few days. So, you need to check it every day and do your investigation. It is, I’m telling you, 100 times more effective. If you have an open sore or wound, I would say seek medical attention right away because untreated lesions can lead to severe infections and sometimes amputation. I need you to work with your doctor closely if you see things like that on your skin.
7. Shin spots: The skin condition generates spots and occasionally some lines on the skin that create a barely visible depression. Patients with diabetes are more likely to experience a condition, although it’s not specific to diabetics, we call this diabetic dermopathy. Anyways, if you have diabetes, it typically develops on the shins. In rare circumstances, it can appear on the arms, the thighs, the trunk, or other parts of your body as well. These brown spots are common and they have no symptoms. Many individuals mistake them for like aging spots as a result of these, you know, not having any symptoms. These spots or lines unlike eight spots normally vanish within 18 to 24 months. Diabetic dermopathy can last sometimes permanently if you do not control your diabetes.
8. Small reddish-yellow lumps: In other words, we call this eruptive xanthomatosis. These lumps frequently resemble pimples when they emerge. Unlike the pimples, though, they turn a yellowish tint super quickly. These bumps are generally found on the buttocks, the thighs, the elbow, and the back of the knees. They can, however, form pretty much anywhere. They are frequently sensitive and itchy regardless of where they occur. Now, eruptive xanthomatosis is a medical term for this and when your diabetes is well controlled, these bumps typically disappear super quickly.
9. Raised lumps that are red or skin-colored: We call them granuloma annulare. It is debatable whether the skin issue is directly linked to diabetes, but as far as we know, the majority of people with granuloma annulare do not have diabetes. But on the other hand, a lot of investigations also discovered that this skin problem specifically is more common in diabetic people. So, in a way, most people do not have but let’s say the incidence of that disorder is like one percent in non-diabetic but three percent in a diabetic. So, it makes diabetics more susceptible to the skin disorder. So, if you have granuloma annulare that comes and goes, you should be evaluated for diabetes according to a few studies that have been published recently. This skin disorder causes bumps and it also comes with patches that are skin-colored, sometimes red and pink or bluish and purple.
10. Dry, itchy skin: That’s extremely dry, itchy skin is super common in people with diabetes. This can be caused by high blood sugar for sure, but it can also be caused by a skin infection or poor circulation as well. CeraVe is a good product that you want to use on that dry skin.
11. Scaly spots around your eyes that are yellowish: We call this xanthelasma. These appear when your body fat cells are too high in your blood. It also indicates that your diabetes is poorly managed. So, watch out, guys!
12. The tags on your skin: Many people have skin tags, right? They’re like little growths on their skin that hang on a style can stuff like that. While skin tags are generally harmless, having a lot of them could indicate that you have way too much insulin in your blood or that you may have type 2 diabetes already. The eyes, the neck, the armpit, and the groin are the most typical sites for these growths.

Here are the tips that I promised at the beginning of this article on how to care for blisters:

Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash

1. I would not attempt to pop or break the blister because the blisters are protected from the infection with the skin that covers it.
2. Just wash the affected area gently with warm water and some mild soap. Antibacterial ointment should also be applied to the blister without popping it.
3. Cover that as well with gauze without making it too tight. You can use some cotton bandage as well. I would use hypoallergenic or paper tape to secure the delusion.
4. At least once that they change the bandage, wear a different pair of shoes until the blister cures if it is on your foot especially and if it is due to your shoes.

Now, let's talk about small cuts and rashes:

Photo by Curology on Unsplash

1. You need to wash the affected area again gently with water, and warm and mild soap. Do not try to dump alcohol on it; that’s not going to help and it actually hurt it.
2. Apply some antibiotics to the affected area, and cover again with a gauze pad or a cotton bandage. I would use some hypoallergenic paper tape to secure it.
3. Change your bandage once a day. I would also check the area frequently to ensure that the discomfort is not worsening and infection is not worsening or developing.

📑 In Conclusion:

I hope you learned something new today. Remember to clap, share, and write something in the comment section if you have experienced any of these conditions, and tell us what you have done about it. So, thank you very much, we'll see you in the next article!