Wounds that heal more slowly than you’d expect are a red flag that sometimes prompts deeper investigation and a diabetes diagnosis. But whatever led to your diagnosis, you’ll need to know more about how Type 2 diabetes affects wound healing and how that might impact you. Before we get into practical tips, tricks, and advice on what to look out for and how to mitigate the problem, let’s investigate the effect of Type 2 diabetes on wound healing.

What is Type 2 Diabetes’s Effect on Wound Healing?

When your body isn’t producing enough insulin or isn’t responding properly to it, it loses the ability to regulate the levels of sugar in the blood properly. Sustained high blood sugar levels lead to a variety of complications, and their effects impact wound healing - either directly, or indirectly.

Neuropathy and Wound Healing

Neuropathy - damage to the nerves owing to high blood sugar levels - often leads to a loss of sensation. A person with Type 2 diabetes may have a wound that they aren’t even aware of, and that means a delay in their response to it or even inadvertently aggravating the wound.

Impaired Blood Circulation

High blood sugar levels impact blood circulation. In this instance, the Type 2 diabetes effect on wound healing is direct. Poor blood supply means a reduced flow of the nutrients and oxygen your tissues need to heal themselves. As a result, wounds will heal more slowly.

Impaired White Blood Cell Function

White blood cells are the “soldiers” of your immune system. But when blood glucose levels are high, they can’t work as they ought to. With a reduced ability to fight off infections, already slowly healing wounds are susceptible to further harm.

Other Factors

Other factors that can come into play in Type 2 diabetes and wound healing include reduced production of hormones responsible for triggering growth and healing processes; impaired blood vessel healing and development; and weakening of the skin barrier.

Complications of Poor Wound Healing

If you’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, your medical team will have warned you to take even the smallest wound seriously - and for good reasons. Infections can become dangerous relatively quickly, especially on the feet.

Slow wound healing is also a sign that your doctors must be alert for other diabetes-related complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, and diabetes-related eye problems.

What You Can Do to Help the Healing Process

The first, and most important, thing you can do to help your body to heal is to manage your diabetes as well as you possibly can. The better you’re able to control your blood glucose levels, the less likely you are to have slow-healing wounds that are prone to infection.

There’s no “magic bullet,” but there’s plenty of common-sense advice that works. Follow your treatment plan carefully, eat mindfully, and throw in some exercise. Things like losing a little weight if you’re overweight, and quitting smoking if you’re a smoker can go a long way toward boosting your body’s ability to heal itself.

If you have sustained a wound, take extra care. Keep the area clean, cover it with a clean dressing every day, and look out for any signs of infection. If you spot symptoms like wounds that fail to close, oozing, increased pain, or inflammation, consult your doctor. You may need special treatments, for example, antibiotics. The sooner you act, the less likely it is to become a matter that requires hospitalisation.

Wound Prevention: Feet Matter

Foot ulcers are the most common type of diabetic wound in need of medical attention. As we mentioned earlier, it’s possible to have sores on your feet that you aren’t even aware of, and that could lead to complications you’d prefer to avoid.

Give your feet some extra love, carefully drying them after baths and showers, trimming your toenails with care, wearing comfortable shoes wherever you go, and applying moisturiser to prevent dry, cracked skin.

While you’re pampering your feet, you’ll have time to give them a thorough checkup, helping you to spot, treat, and monitor any sores before they become problematic. If you notice signs of infection, don’t delay seeing your doctor.

Hoping to Live Your Best Life Despite Type 2 Diabetes? We’re Right Behind You

Reading about Type 2 diabetes complications can be depressing work. The important thing to remember is that being informed is a positive step. Taking action on your information is the next one, and keeping up the fight doesn’t have to be a constant uphill battle.

At Blueberry Life, we subscribe to the idea of Ikigai. In essence, it means you have a reason for being. You know what you want from life, and you’re ready to develop yourself to get there. It’s a sustainable process because you’re working towards your dreams - and the process can be a relaxed and enjoyable one. In short, our message is that you can make a compounding personal investment in your health thanks to your lifestyle choices.

Of course, day-to-day worries can get in the way of all this, but we can clear at least one of them out of your path: the need to provide for your family’s future if the worst were to happen and you were to pass away unexpectedly. We’ve made getting a fair deal on life insurance for people with chronic conditions, like Type 2 diabetes easier than ever by specialising in our field. To find out just how easy it can be, fill in our simple online application form. Meanwhile, be sure to browse our information resources - and stay tuned - we’ll keep on publishing articles on topics that matter to you.

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Reviewed by Dr. Kingshuk Pal