People with diabetic foot problems like athlete’s foot and eczema are prone to a much more serious diabetes complication of the skin called cellulitis.
Diabetes and feet – Symptoms of cellulitis
Cellulitis means inflammation of the skin. Being a bacterial infection, cellulitis is a diabetic foot infection that needs aggressive management. In the initial stages, it only affects the outer layer of the skin. Cellulitis of the feet looks like a reddish area on the skin that is swollen and tender to touch.
On the affected area of the skin, cellulitis of the feet is warm and hard. In the later stages of cellulitis, there is diabetic foot infection that causes the skin to break. This occurs due to compromised immunity along with poor circulation of blood which is common in diabetes.
With the progression of the disease, the inner layers of the skin are also affected with the appearance of blisters, swelling, and foot sores. Cellulitis is a dangerous diabetes complication as the infection can spread from the feet into the inner layers of the skin, and then to the lymph nodes. If left untreated, cellulitis in diabetes can be a life-threatening condition.
Symptoms of cellulitis
- Reddish color of the affected area of skin
- Tenderness to touch
- Foot pain
- Feeling of warmth
- Red spots on the skin
- Inflammation of the skin
- Rashes and blisters
- Skin of the affected area turning glossy
- Pus formation with fever
