Investigation of the usage of traditional and complementary medicine by patients with diabetic foot wounds

• Published in: Hemşirelik Bilimi Dergisi Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 94 - 100
• Main Authors: Gümüş,Demet, Boyraz Özkavak,Sakine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Aydın Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi 18-07-2022
• Subjects: Hemşirelik; Sağlık Hizmetleri; Tıp; Aydın; Türkiye; Diabetes; Wound Healing; Diabetic Foot Ulcer; Geleneksel ve Tamamlayıcı Tedavi; Diyabetik Ayak Yarası; Traditional and Complementary Treatment; Diyabet
• ISSN: 2636-8439
• DOI: 10.54189/hbd.1104374

Aim: Diabetic foot is a frequent complication of diabetic patients due to susceptibility to infection, peripheral artery disease and neuropathy.
Method: The research was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional type of study with 180 patients with diabetic foot ulcer in order to determine their use of traditional and complementary medicine for wound healing. Data were collected using the “Structured Questionnaire”. In the evaluation of the data; Pearson Chi-Square, Student's t-test, Fisher's Exact test and descriptive statistics were used. p<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Participants; it was seen that the mean age was 61.5±10.6, 59.4% of them were primary school graduates, 85% of them were married and 73.3% of them were male. 35% of patients reported using at least one traditional and complementary method for foot ulcers. While using herbal products, St. John's Wort, olive oil, pine, aloe vera extract and onion; among the manipulative and mind-body methods, it was determined that praying, applying vaseline and ice to the wound were used the most. It was determined that 82.5% of the patients using traditional and complementary medicine methods used these methods without informing their physicians.
Conclusion: Patients who use traditional and complementary medicine methods without informing their physicians are at risk of infecting the wound and delaying its treatment. Therefore, it is important that the healthcare team caring for a diabetic foot ulcer question and educate each patient about traditional and complementary medicine practices.