Can diabetes cause febrile neutropenia & Ecthyma Gangrenosum

[bobjr94]

My wife (35, type 2 for about 8 years) has been getting these hard spots under the skin (mostly upper leg area) that in a few days will become puss filled, then open up leaking alot of nasty stuff(looks like a milk shake). Then a day or 2 after that the skin turns mushy, dies and tears away and leave a hold about the size of a quarter or larger. It then takes from 4-6 weeks to heal over.

Seems like she will always has 2, one healing over and a new one starting.

She also always seems to feel bad and says she has felt like she has had a fever on and off for over a month now. Doing some reading, Ecthyma Gangrenosum looks like the skin infections she is having and it says Febrile Neutropenia can cause this type of infection along with fevers. But febrile neutropenia is usually a side effect of cancer treatment and she has never had any treatments for anything like that. Is it possible an diabetics immune system can be compromised in a way similar to the effects of chemotherapy and she may have febrile neutropenia and not know it ? She has had regular lab tests 2 times a year and they never have said anything about this kind of problem.

This is a picture I found on google that looks just like what happens after the fluid drains and the skin opens up. I am worried about the skin being open for the weeks it takes to heal over. We try to keep it covered and use antibiotic treatments on it but it still could become more infected.

[Zoelula]

I don't know anything about the condition you described, but it certainly seems like something to talk with her doctor about. Diabetics, in general, are subject to more infections of various kinds and take longer to heal, but that sounds like something that should not be ignored. How have her blood sugars been recently and when she is feeling dizzy and light-headed in particular?

[bobjr94]

Also one more note, she has complained of feeling dizzy or light headed often the last few weeks, for no cause we can find.