Foot skin health in age and diabetes: Quantifying composition and physical behaviour, exploring opportunities for prevention and remedy of pathology, and review of appropriate measurement technology
The foot is a common location for skin pathology to occur, particularly in people who are older or have diabetes. In healthy individuals, this can cause discomfort and pain, but for people with poor-health this can lead to the development of dangerous chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers.
Foot skin pathology can be prevented and treated with emollients, and many products are available for the aged and diabetic population. However, the efficacy assessment of these on the foot is limited, and little guidance is available for the prescription and use of these.
This scheme of work entails several studies that are designed to provide novel data on how the foot skin composition changes with age and diabetes, how this impacts it’s physical behaviour and vulnerability to damage, and how these factors can be modified using emollients. We will also be using this work as an opportunity to assess whether skin measurement tools used elsewhere on the body are suitable for use on the foot, informing future efficacy testing.
The end-goal of this work is to contribute to the development of a treatment for foot skin pathology for vulnerable patient groups and contribute to policy and guidance for footcare for individuals with foot skin pathology.
The PhD studentship that underpins this scheme of work was funded by Scholl Wellbeing Co.
Team