Diabetic patients should always be aware of the many effects it causes on human body. One such affliction is the skin disease that diabetes mellitus causes rampantly. When a diabetic patient discovers abnormality on the skin it is better to consult a doctor and start a treatment otherwise it will be very difficult to cure later. In most cases skin disease in diabetes can be managed by early diagnosis and treatment.

Some of the more widespread skin diseases in diabetic patients are discussed here.

Vitiligo

This is a skin condition that affects those people with type 1 Diabetes than type 2 Diabetes. With Vitiligo the pigments that make skin color get destroyed or the special pigment cells in the body are destroyed. These leaves patches of depigmented skin lesion. Vitiligo affects the whole body including chest, abdomen, face, around the mouth, and eyelids. Topical steroids and micro-pigmentation or tattooing the discoloured area are the treatment.

Diabetic Dermopathy

This is also called as shin spots. The skin condition develops due to the changes in the blood vessels that supply the skin. The dermopathy appears as shiny round or oval lesions of thin skin over the front lower parts of the lower legs. The patches do not hurt but rarely they can be itchy and cause burning. Usually medical treatment is not necessary.

Digital Sclerosis

Digital sclerosis is a condition in which the skin on the toes, fingers and hands become thick and waxy. There can be a certain stiffness of the finger joints also. The only treatment is to get the sugar levels back under control. Lotions and creams can help soften the skin.

Diabetic blisters

In some rare cases, people with diabetes may develop blisters on the skin that resembles burn blisters. The blisters are commonly seen on the fingers, hands, toes, feet, legs or forearms. Diabetic blisters are generally painless and heal on their own. This skin problem occurs in people who have uncontrolled diabetes and diabetic neuropathy.

Bacterial & Fungal Infections

Patients with diabetes are prone to bacterial and fungal infection of the skin because bacteria and fungi feed on sugar. Bacteria like Staphylococcus are more common and serious in patients with uncontrolled diabetes. The bacterial infection can result in boils at hair follicles. Other infections like styes which occur in the eyelids and nail infection are common. The rampant fungal infection occurs mostly in the toes and in-between toes with itchy rashes. The common fungal infections are jock itch (on genitals and crevices) athlete’s foot (inbetween toes) and ring worm.

How to control diabetic skin Infection?

High blood sugar makes the immune cells slow and sluggish, that is why it is harder to fight an infection once it takes hold. Prevention is important in skin care. Check the skin daily for injury, cuts or scrapes. Eating healthy food alone can’t cure skin problems; keeping blood sugar under control is the best option. Avoid extreme temperatures when you have diabetes. Diabetes can cause nerve damage called neuropathy, where you can lose the feeling in your hands and feet and may not realize pain when you are hurt. Frequent foot soaks may be recommended for calluses and dry skin but when you soak and don’t dry properly it causes infection between toes and on the nails due to fungal attack. Never cut calluses by yourself. Sometimes a skin problem is the first sign of diabetes.

Prostate gland usually gets enlarged in older men. The prostate gland enlargement is also called prostatic hyperplasia. The main problem with prostate gland enlargement is that it causes difficulty in passing urine. Symptoms in prostate gland enlargement are often mild and overtime may even improve. If the symptoms turn out to be troublesome then you may need surgical intervention or medicines to cure it.

Among leading hospitals for prostate enlargement treatment Annai Arul Hospital stand with its advanced facilities for prostate treatment including surgery.

What is a Prostate?

The prostate gland is found in men and lies just beneath the bladder. It is normally the size of a chestnut.  The tube that carries urine from the bladder runs through the prostate. The prostates function is to produce the fluid that protects and enriches the sperm. The prostate has a tendency to slowly start enlarging after the age of 50 and by the age of 90 most men have an enlarged prostate.

How to find Prostate Enlargement?

When the prostate enlargement happens it slowly narrows down the urethra. This will partially affect the passage of urine. At this state the symptoms will include:

Poor streaming – The flow of urine is weak and it takes a long while to empty the bladder

Feeling Hesitant – When you are about to urinate you will have to wait for some time

Dribble Effect – At the end of the passing urine, the flow gets really slow and starts dribbling

Unsatisfactory Emptying – Even after urinating the feeling of not quite emptied bladder

Irritable Sensation – The enlarged prostate causes irritation in the bladder and indicates enlargement

Mostly the symptoms of enlargement are mild at the beginning but over months and years the symptoms become more troublesome and severe, it is at this juncture that complications develop in rare cases.

What are treatment options for PE?

There is no treatment option that is likely to clear all symptoms and improve the condition fairly except waiting and watching in most of the cases. The treatments are carried out based on how desperate is the urine blockage and how bothersome is your life due to prostate enlargement.

Medicines

The treatment of prostate enlargement largely depends on the condition of your prostate enlargement and how much of trouble it is giving. If there is not much symptoms then it is best to wait and watch. Two groups of medicines are prescribed usually the alpha – blockers and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. But is seen that medicines do not cure the problem nor do they make the symptoms go away completely. The only advantage being that medicine eases the body and various symptoms.

Surgery

Another option in prostate treatment is removal of the prostate or surgery. This is an option in cases where the symptoms get out of control and seems to have no result with medicines. In the surgery the central part alone of the prostate is removed which creates a channel for the urine to flow freely. Meanwhile another part is left behind. If there is a case of prostate cancer then the procedure involves total removal of the troublesome prostate. The surgical methods involve transurethral Resection, open prostatectomy and laser prostatectomy.

If you have the symptoms for prostate enlargement and still you are waiting it is always advisable to visit the Speciality Urology Department of Annai Arul Hospital to find a proper solution for prostate problems.