DFU Manual - Episode 1 - Intro

Episode 1 of the DFU Manual opens with the hidden danger behind diabetic foot disease: a wound you cannot feel. Diabetes dulls the nerves in the feet, so an injury can start without pain to warn you — which is exactly what makes it both serious and preventable. The scale, per Dr. David Armstrong, is hard to ignore: - A new diabetic foot ulcer appears somewhere in the world every 1.2 seconds. - A limb is lost to a diabetes-related amputation every 20 seconds. - Roughly 85% of those amputations are preventable with early detection and care. ### The chain of damage Three starting points feed into the same path: nerve damage (neuropathy), an everyday trauma, and poor circulation from vascular disease. From there the chain runs sore → infection → amputation, and it can be broken at any step: 1. Nerve damage — high glucose dulls sensation, so pain, heat, and pressure go unnoticed. 2. Silent wound — an unfelt injury becomes a sore no one sees. 3. Infection — poor circulation lets bacteria spread deep and fast. 4. Amputation — untreated tissue dies, and the limb, or life, is at risk. ### You are the captain Saving feet takes a team — doctors, nurses, podiatrists, and surgeons — but the patient leads. Daily foot checks, the right footwear, and regular visits move you into the preventable 85%. For a deeper guide to daily habits and risk factors, see diabetic foot wound prevention. Next up in Session 2: meet Juan, and learn how the right shoe can prevent your very first wound.

#diabeticfoot #diabetesawareness #limbpreservation