Diabetic Blisters: Feet, Hand, and Leg Symptoms (2024)

Diabetes, or diabetes mellitus, is to a group of chronic conditions that affect your glucose (blood sugar) levels due to problems with the way your body produces or uses the hormone insulin. In rare cases, diabetes can lead to the complication bullosis diabeticorum, also known as diabetic blisters or diabetes bullae.

Diabetic blisters often appear on the feet, hands, arms, or lower legs. It’s not entirely clear what causes diabetic blisters, but researchers believe they are typically the result of uncontrolled blood sugar levels. They are also more common in people with diabetic neuropathy (nerve pain).

This article will go over everything you need to know about diabetic blisters, including symptoms, causes, treatment options, and more.

Symptoms of Blisters From Diabetes

The following are symptoms of blisters caused by uncontrolled diabetes, including their typical appearance, location on the body, and related sensations.

Appearance

Diabetic blisters are fluid-filled sacs without any surrounding redness or swelling. Many people compare them to blisters from a burn. Most people get more than one at a time.

Blisters caused by diabetes tend to be significantly larger than other kinds of blisters. They can reach up to 10 centimeters (cm) in size.

Location

Diabetic blisters are especially common on the feet. They also sometimes appear on the hands, arms, or lower half of the legs.

Symptom Onset

Usually, bullosis diabeticorum appears after blood sugar levels have been excessively high for a long period of time. There’s no specific timeline, but this may take several months or years.

Once diabetic blisters start forming, it takes only a few days for them to erupt. They may seem to show up suddenly, without any warning signs or related causes (unlike blisters caused by burns or friction, for example).

Sensations

Bullosis diabeticorum is a non-inflammatory, typically painless condition. Most people with diabetic blisters don’t experience any associated symptoms, such as stinging, tenderness, or itchiness.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

If you think you may have blisters due to diabetes, you should follow up with your diabetic care team. There’s no particular test that can diagnose diabetes bullae, but your healthcare provider may perform a skin biopsy (removing a sample of skin for analysis in a lab) or additional tests to rule out other possible explanations. They may also perform a serum (blood) test to assess your blood sugar levels.

Your primary healthcare provider, podiatrist, endocrinologist, and/or dietitian, may help you manage the blisters themselves and prevent future ones. In addition to treating your blisters, seeing your care team consistently will also assist in managing blood sugar and preventing complications.

See a healthcare provider right away if you have blisters and any of the following:

• Signs of infection, such as pus drainage or warm skin in the affected area
• Fever
• Open wounds that aren’t resolving on their own

Why Does Diabetes Lead to Blisters?

The exact cause of diabetic bullae remains unknown. Many researchers argue that the condition is caused by blood vessel and nerve damage in the feet (or other affected areas) due to persistently high glucose levels.

Over time, high blood sugar can cause diabetic peripheral neuropathy, which is a kind of nerve damage that leads to numbness, pain, tingling, and pins-and-needles sensations in the limbs, hands, and feet. It also negatively affects circulation throughout the body. These complications may cause changes in the skin, including blisters in some people.

How to Treat Blisters With Diabetes

Diabetic blisters usually resolve on their own within two to six weeks without scarring or any other complications. However, they often tend to show up again, often in the same areas of your body.

While your blisters are healing, you should take steps to keep them free of infection, such as keeping them clean and dry, wearing loose-fitting footwear that doesn’t rub against the affected area, and applying a bandage over the blister. You should avoid popping your blisters yourself, as this could increase the chance of infection.

The best way to treat diabetic blisters is by treating your overall symptoms of diabetes. This involves managing your condition effectively with nutrition, exercise, and/or medication under the advice of your care team in order to keep your blood sugar levels under control. This should help to prevent future blisters from forming.

Complications from Unmanaged Diabetes and Blisters

Diabetic blisters are usually harmless. In rare cases, unresolved blisters can lead to severe skin complications, such as ulceration (open wounds). This may lead to infection or the need for surgical interventions, such as debridement and wound dressings, or even amputation if left unmanaged for long periods of time.

Meanwhile, uncontrolled diabetes and consistently high blood sugar levels can cause a number of serious and even life-threatening complications. These may include:

• Heart disease, heart attack, and stroke
• Eye-related problems, such as glaucoma, cataracts, and vision loss
• Infections, especially skin and mouth infections
• Kidney damage
• Dementia
• Blood vessel damage
• Foot-related problems
• Osteoporosis (loss of bone mineral density and bone mass)
  

Living Well With Diabetes and Blisters

Ways to protect your feet from common complications from diabetes include:

• Wash and dry your feet well daily.
• Keep the area between your toes dry.
• Moisturize your feet (avoiding the area between your toes) regularly.
• Trim or file your toenails consistently.
• Wear well-fitting socks and shoes, including diabetes-friendly footwear, if necessary.
• Avoid going barefoot.

If you have diabetes, take the necessary steps to manage your blood sugar effectively. Examples include:

• Taking your medication(s) exactly as prescribed
• Monitoring your blood sugar regularly
• Following up as directed with your care team
• Exercising consistently
• Prioritizing sleep and rest
• Managing stress
• Eating a nutritious diet high in healthy fats and proteins and low in refined sugar and processed foods
• Quitting smoking

Summary

Rarely, uncontrolled diabetes and high blood sugar levels can lead to diabetic blisters. These typically appear as painless sacs filled with fluid, often on the feet but sometimes on the hands or limbs. They usually don’t cause other symptoms, such as inflammation and pain.

Diabetic blisters, also known as diabetes bullae or bullosis diabeticorum, are typically harmless and often go away on their own in a few weeks. The best way to prevent them is by managing your blood sugar levels with the help of your care team.