Personal Hygiene & Injury Care

Chapter 37 · Vihang Rahul Vasa

• Maintain excellent personal and private hygiene at all times. Skin and tissues in people with diabetes are more vulnerable to infections, so cleanliness of the whole body is your first line of defence. A daily bath, clean and dry clothes, and dry skin, especially after sweating, keep bacteria and fungus from settling. Change socks and underwear every day, without exception.

• Keep your genitals (private parts), armpits, groin, under the breasts, and every fold of skin clean and dry: wash them properly at every bath and dry them fully. These areas trap sweat and moisture, and in people with diabetes they are more prone to fungal and bacterial infections than the rest of the body. Repeated fungal infections in these folds can be a sign of high plasma glucose (blood sugar). And any infection here can be slower to heal and harder to treat when diabetes is uncontrolled: so do not ignore it; show it to your doctor early.

• Maintain thorough dental hygiene: diabetes increases the risk of gum disease, and gum infections in turn can worsen plasma glucose (blood sugar) control. Brush twice a day, and never ignore bleeding gums, loose teeth, or a bad taste that will not go: these are early warnings. I use a water flosser every day, and I was surprised how much food debris it removes even after a good brushing. Flossing can injure your gums if done wrongly, so ask your dentist which flossing method is right for you, and let the dentist teach you how to do it. See a dentist at least twice a year, tell the dentist that you live with diabetes, and share your latest HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin) report before any dental treatment.

• Do not ignore even a minor injury. Handle every cut, scrape, or wound with utmost care: clean it properly, apply antiseptic, and keep it covered. In diabetes, even small wounds can take longer to heal and are prone to infection. Check the wound every day; keep it clean, dry, and disinfected, and change the dressing regularly. Never try to cut, burst, or pick at anything yourself: no home surgery on corns, blisters, or boils. Any wound that does not begin to heal within a few days, or shows redness, swelling, or pus, must be shown to your doctor: in diabetes, small wounds can turn serious quietly.

What You Wear Matters

Avoid synthetic fabrics next to the skin: undergarments, clothes, socks. Synthetic fabric breathes poorly; sweat is trapped at skin level, and in a person living with diabetes that raises the chance of infection and makes any infection worse. Prefer cotton, linen, or any fabric that lets the skin breathe, and change anything sweaty as soon as you can.

Illustration: Chapter 37 illustrated summary. Clean, dry, carefully cared for: dental hygiene, dentist-taught flossing, clean and dry skin, breathable clothing, and clean, covered wounds.

Chapter 37 Clean, dry, carefully cared for: dental hygiene, dentist-taught flossing, clean and dry skin, breathable clothing, and clean, covered wounds. Redness, swelling or discharge calls for a doctor's review.

Chapter at a glance: an AI-generated illustration to be read with the chapter, not instead of it. The people shown are not real.