Here's a Leg Ulcer Care Plan to Try From Home

If you develop a venous ulcer, you'll need to carefully follow a leg ulcer care plan to recover. Now, some of our patients find it difficult to make regular office visits in Atlanta, but here's some good news. Once we've established your healing protocol, based on your unique symptoms and medical history, we may be able to save you some return visits by supervising your recovery remotely.

Venous Leg Ulcers: Causes and Treatments

If you have a venous leg ulcer (VLU) that means you've developed a non-healing skin defect, often due to untreated chronic venous disease (CVD). This serious complication can be a chronic and persistent problem. In fact, about 50% of patients with ulcers must deal with their wound for 6 and 12 months, according to this study.

Luckily, there are many ways to treat your ulcer, some in the office and some that can happen at home. And, research reveals that if you focus on your diet, adding more protein, vitamins C and A, zinc, copper, and essential fatty acids to your meals, you may be able to speed up healing time. However, that time may still mean weeks of recovery, which is why you can talk to us about integrating remote follow ups into your leg ulcer care plan.

Remote Care and Venous Leg Ulcers: a Perfect Combination

Thanks to research coming out of Canada, we know that conditions such as leg ulcers respond equally well whether treated with remote follow-up care or in-person office visits. As such, for patients who may live farther away from our Georgia vein care center, we may be able to offer you remote follow up appointments after diagnosing your ulcer in person and crafting your follow-up leg ulcer care plan while we have you in the office.

The Science on Delivering Ulcer Care Remotely

Back in 2014, Norwegian researchers started following two groups of patients with foot ulcers. Twenty of these patients were scheduled for telemedicine follow-ups while 120 stuck with in-person office visits. And here's what they found: both groups of patients displayed similar ulcer healing times, with identical numbers experiencing complete healing after 12 weeks of care. As such, we can safely say that care quality shouldn't suffer if you choose to have remote follow up care for your VLU. All you have to do is reach out and ask for help, by clicking here to request an appointment. When you come in for a visit, we can assess whether your leg ulcer care plan can be monitored via remote visits!

Sources: BMC Health Service Research