What are the causes and symptoms of diabetic foot infections?
Bacteria can cause an infection through small cracks (fissures) that can develop in the dry skin around the heel and on other parts of the foot or through corns, calluses, blisters, hangnails, or ulcers. If not treated, the bacterial infection can destroy skin, tissue, and bone or spread throughout the body. Common sites of diabetic foot infections include the following: • blisters, corns, or callouses that bleed beneath the skin • bunions, hammertoes, or other abnormalities in the bones of the foot • scar tissue that has grown over the site of an earlier infection • foot ulcers caused by pressure, nerve damage, or poor circulation (Ulcers occur most often over the ball of the foot, on the bottom of the big toe, or on the sides of the foot due to poorly fitting shoes.) • injuries that tear or puncture the skin Source: The Gale Group. Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.
