Each year in America, over 80,000 people with diabetes have lower leg amputations. Up to 85% of these amputations begin as diabetic foot ulcers that never heal.

If you have diabetes, you may be among the 15 percent who will have a diabetic foot ulcer. Diabetic foot ulcers occur most often in patients over the age of 40.

If you think you may have a diabetic foot ulcer, take this helpful Diabetic Foot Ulcer Quiz..

People with diabetes are at risk for foot injuries due to numbness caused by nerve damage and low blood flow to the legs and feet. As a result, diabetic foot ulcers can go undetected for a long time. They often start so small that it is hard to believe that they can become dangerous so fast. Sadly, nearly 3 out of 4 amputations result from minor wounds and skin ulcers of the foot that fail to heal.

But for many patients, amputation does not solve or end the problem of diabetic foot wounds. On the contrary, one amputation all too often leads to another. It is terrible but true that people who have one amputation have a 50% chance of getting a second amputation in 3 to 5 years.

Next: How Diabetic Foot Ulcers are Formed

Click here for free diabetic foot wound information