How to Care for Your Wound
A wound on the skin that takes time to heal or recurs on the same spot could be chronic and lead to amputation. Certain conditions such as low blood circulation and diabetes could lead to amputation. Wound care is vital in helping you heal faster and improves your quality of life. Specialists at wound care in Humble have the knowledge and technology to provide standard and advanced therapies. You should know the cause of the wound and wound stages when caring for the injury and during treatment.
Causes of Wounds
A burn, cut, or trauma could cause wounds; sometimes the wounds could also develop after surgery. The stitching from surgery could cause chronic wounds if you are not well attended to. People with diabetes are likely to develop wounds that do not heal. Some insects are also dangerous because if they bite you, they can cause infections on your skin. Therefore, it is necessary to visit your physician if you are experiencing any changes around the wound, such as increased pain, swelling, or tenderness.
Stages of Wound Healing
Hemostasis is the first stage of your healing process, and it starts when you stop the bleeding. Your platelets will join and seal the broken skin; this happens very quickly if you have a good blood flow and prevents too much blood loss. Clotting will help your wound to heal by forming a scab. When there is reduced bleeding, your body will begin to clean and heal the wound.
The second healing stage is inflammation, where the wound starts to heal right after clotting, and there is no more blood flow. Inflammation prevents you from contracting infections and controls bleeding. The engorgement of the fluids will allow repair cells and healing to the affected part of the skin. You might feel pain, heat, and redness caused by the enzymes, white blood cells, and growth factors that cause the swelling. The white blood cells will then defend and rebuild the infected area. Moreover, if the inflammation is prolonged or excess, it can cause more damages to the skin.
The rebuilding stage could start when the wound is stable and clean. The red blood cells in your body will create new tissue; there should be enough blood flow to ensure enough oxygen and nutrients reach the wound. Here, the wound does not bleed easily if there is healthy granulation. It would help if you kept the wound clean and moisturized to stimulate the epithelialization process.
The maturation stage is when your wound is closed, but it’s still healing. You might feel tightness and itch in the area, and you should moisturize it. The pain would go away if the wound followed the following stages of healing. Depending on the size of the wound, the healing area will be weaker compared to uninjured skin.
The healing process can be complicated and fragile, but with a specialist’s help, you can manage your wound. When there is no progress in the stages, the wound can lead to chronic complications. When you take care of the wound by cleaning, keeping it clean, and protecting it from infection and reinjury, it can speed up the recovering stages. However, people with diabetes have a high risk of wound infection as their immune system is compromised.
Conclusion
The wound should only be treated after diagnosing the root cause to reduce the risk of infection. This will help when giving treatments and antibiotics to not collide if you are taking other medications. If you have diabetes you should regularly visit your doctor and be cautious to avoid injury that causes wounds; in case of any complications do not hesitate to visit your doctor.