How long does a diabetic foot ulcer take to heal?

It may take weeks or even several months. A wound is considered non-healing if it has not started to heal in 2 weeks or has not completely healed in 6 — started and completely being two different tests.

There’s a range rather than a single number: it may take weeks or even several months for foot ulcers to heal.

Several months is the long end of that range, and it applies to an ulcer being treated. It is worth knowing early, because people usually expect weeks.

Compare that with the general markers for a wound that has stopped progressing. You may have a non-healing wound if it has not started to heal in 2 weeks, or has not completely healed in 6 weeks. Foot ulcers due to diabetes are one of the common types treated at a wound care center.

Those two statements are not in conflict, and the difference between them is the thing to hold on to. Started to heal is the two-week test. Completely healed is the six-week one. An ulcer taking months can still be healing; an ulcer that has not begun to change in two weeks is a different observation.

What lengthens it is partly within reach. Keeping your blood sugar level under good control helps you heal faster and helps your body fight infections. Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol under control, and stopping smoking, help too.

And what lengthens it most is the thing the wound was caused by. Pressure on one part of the foot is partly what made the ulcer, and sometimes putting pressure on the healing ulcer for even a few minutes can reverse the healing that happened up to that point. A timeline can be reset.

If you are being treated at a wound center, the measurement taken at each visit answers this question for your own ulcer better than any general range.

What to watch for

A non-healing wound is one that has not started to heal in 2 weeks or has not completely healed in 6 weeks.

Sometimes putting pressure on the healing ulcer for even a few minutes can reverse the healing that happened up to that point.

Signs of infection to contact a provider about: redness, increased warmth, or swelling around the wound; extra drainage; pus; odor; fever or chills; increased pain; increased firmness around the wound. Also if the ulcer is very white, blue, or black.

A long expected timeline is not a reason to stop reporting change. Wound Wizard is general education and cannot assess your ulcer. Your own clinician is the right person to ask.

What we look at

  • Measuring the ulcer at each visit
  • Judging whether it is progressing
  • Determining why it is not healing if it has stalled
  • Reviewing blood sugar, pressure relief and footwear

Sources

  1. Diabetes - foot ulcers — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000077.htm
  2. Wound care centers — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000739.htm