My Legs are Swollen and I Have Sores on my Legs

One of the most common causes of ulcerations is venous insufficiency. These glitzy medical terms just mean that your veins aren’t working as well as they used to. As a result, the blood and lymph is not able to return to your heart as readily as it once was. The valves in your veins aren’t working as well and the veins are stretched from many years of hard work. As a result, your fluids will pool at the point of greatest gravity: your feet. You will notice a swelling in your legs and feet and in later stages, your legs will start to turn a darker color. If your feet or legs swell enough, your skin will no longer be able to withstand the pressure and as a result you will have breaks in your skin ultimately leasing to ulcers.

So, what is the best way to heal your venous stasis ulcers? The answer is simple, compression. You have to help your body move the fluid from your feet and legs back up to your heart for circulation and ultimately you need to discard some of the fluid through the use of your kidneys. An option for fluid overload is diuretics that will remove fluid from your body. Ultimately, the treatment of this condition is a joint effort between your podiatrist and primary care provider to get rid of this excess fluid.

When you have an ulcer though, it is a combination between compression and wound care treatment to get you healed as well as to reduce the fluid in your feet and legs. Your podiatrist has many tools in their toolbox to help you achieve these results including biologic grafts, wound care ointments, bandaging and compression options. Once the wound is healed, compression options need to be looked at to prevent future ulcerations.

If you have an ingrown toenail, you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be an infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics and it could become much worse if not taken care of quickly. If you live in the Wilmington or North Billerica, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.