Foot wounds and ulcers

"Advanced wound care" is a phrase readers bring to us often. It sounds like a level of treatment, but you can only judge it once you know what a foot wound actually is. The three questions below start from plain definitions.

What each answer checks

• What is Charcot foot? The answer begins with what the name covers and what the sources say about it.
• Why do foot wounds heal slowly with diabetes? APMA describes a diabetic foot ulcer as an open sore or wound that occurs in approximately 15 percent of patients with diabetes and is commonly located on the bottom of the foot.
• What is an ischemic ulcer? MedlinePlus links ischemic ulcers to poor blood flow, mostly in the legs and only rarely elsewhere in the body.

The claim they share

All three questions test one idea, that "advanced" care starts with a clear name for the wound. So each answer opens with the name and with the source that defines it.

If you want to read further, the MedlinePlus diabetic foot page and the Cleveland Clinic guide to diabetes-related foot conditions are good places to start.

When a label crosses topics

A sore that comes with numbness or weak blood flow also belongs to our neuropathy and circulation group. Check each claim in both places.