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Conditions

Leg Ulcer

Leg ulcer

A leg ulcer definitely sounds like something we could all happily live without. And thankfully, for people under the age of 45, they are very rare. However, if you’ve made it past the grand old age of 80, the figures show that 1 in every 50 are affected by venous leg ulcers, and they are more common in people who are obese or immobile. Leg ulcers look like craters in the skin, varying in shape, colour and size. Your leg may also be painful, itchy and swollen. In many cases they are due to poor circulation in the arteries, if the values in your veins stop working or as a result of diabetes. Ulcers need to be kept clean to avoid infection whilst arterial ulcers may benefit from surgery. If the leg ulcer is caused by an underlying disease it’s important to have this treated as well.

What the Men in White Coats Say

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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out the Channel 4 Health site or NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.

You have to find out what the cause of the ulcer is. Did you have a clot in your leg while pregnant? Or are you diabetic? Lots of things cause leg ulcers. Since you are in compression bandages, it is likely that you have been diagnosed with venous leg ulceration, which is caused by the venous circulation in your legs. The treatment for this is correctly applied compression. If you are unresponsive to this then the bandages may not be getting applied properly. It is a complete art to bandage correctly and small errors will result in sub-therapy. If your ulcer is not getting better then try getting a referral to a Tissue Viability Specialist or try getting the nurses to change the compression therapy from short stretch bandages to long stretch (or vica versa)

Hope all goes well.

I've sufered from leg ulcer's for the past 4 year's no one seem's to know how to treat them. I've had ultra sound scans done to both legs, but the doctor's say it isn't viable to have laser treatment. I also have compression bandages twice a week could you please advice me on any other treatment as I'm only 39 years of age and have 2 young children which i cant play with as i'm in constant pain thankyou.




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