Sometimes a skin ailment is the first sign that a person is suffering from diabetes, and about 33 percent of diabetics have a skin problem that is either caused or affected by diabetes at some point in their lives, according to the American Diabetes Association. If diabetics catch skin ailments early, however, most of the ailments can be easily treated.
Bacterial Infections
Skin inflamed with a bacterial infection usually feels hot to the touch, appears red and swollen, and hurts. The types of bacterial skin infections that tend to occur in people with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association, are infections called carbuncles that affect the skin and its underlying tissue, boils, infections of the hair follicles called folliculitis, infections of the eyelid glands called styes, and nail infections. Most often, the kind of bacteria that’s the culprit is Staphylococcus, commonly known as “staph” bacteria, states the American Diabetes Association.
Fungal Infections
Fungal skin infections in people with diabetes usually appear in the form of itchy rashes of red, moist areas surrounded by small blisters and scales. These infections are most frequently caused by a yeast called Candida albicans, says the American Diabetes Association, and occur in skin folds that are warm and moist, such as in armpits, in the groin area, and between fingers and toes. Itching skin is a clue that people may be suffering from diabetes that underlies other symptoms, such as a fungal infection, says AgingSkinNet, so people who notice skin itching should discuss that possibility with their doctors.
Diabetic Dermopathy
This condition, which is caused when diabetes damages small blood vessels that supply blood to the skin, creates brown, scaly patches that are either oval or circular in shape and appear on the front of the legs, according to the American Diabetes Association. Diabetic dermopathy doesn’t need to be treated because it’s harmless, notes the American Diabetes Association.
Atherosclerosis
Another condition that commonly affects the skin on the legs of people with diabetes is atherosclerosis, which happens when the arteries that lead to the skin harden, narrowing the blood vessels. Atherosclerosis causes leg skin to become thin, cool, shiny, and hairless, says the American Diabetes Association. When diabetics with atherosclerosis injure the skin on their legs, the skin heals more slowly than it would in healthy people, the American Diabetes Association says, often resulting in open sores. AgingSkinNet cautions that sores that either don’t heal, or that seem to heal and then appear again, are signs of diabetes that people should mention to their doctors.
