10 Gangrene Symptoms

By dr. mera

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5. Cold Skin

Cold skin is an early sign in most types of gangrene. In fact, most patients complain of a cold and numb sensation in the area affected. Additionally, it can also feel cold to the touch. This sign is especially common in dry gangrene, where the tissue initially turns cold, pale and shrunken. As mentioned, this decrease in the temperature of the skin or in the affected tissue happens because its blood supply is restricted or completely blocked.

A good example of this sign is seen in dry gangrene, which is especially common in people with diabetes. The high levels of blood sugar in this condition, damage blood vessels and nerves. The former leads to the interruption of blood flow to distal body parts and impairs the process of wound healing, while the latter results in the loss of peripheral nervous sensation, which predisposes to mechanical trauma in the pressure points of the extremity. Especially with poor disease management, this can lead to the appearance of sores (ulceration) in the area, that can later progress to dry or even wet gangrene. In diabetics, this process is most common in the feet; in fact, foot ulceration affects 1 in 10 diabetics during their lifetime.