All wounds must be looked after carefully to ensure proper healing to prevent infection or scar formation.  A slow healing wound is vulnerable to get secondary infection because the wound is exposed and not covered by skin.  Poor healing can cause scarring, impaired function or even amputation. 

Risk factors which can cause wounds to heal slower

• Diabetes
• Poor immunity (such as cancer, autoimmune disease)
• Poor nutrition (not eating healthily)
• Poor blood circulation (venous or pressure ulcers)
• Smoking
• Infected or dirty wound
• Wounds with skin loss
• Jagged wound due to trauma or injury

Click to watch SandraYaya video on Wound Healing

Wound Healing occurs in 3 phases

• Inflammation phase (day 0-4)
• Reconstruction phase (day 4-24)
• Maturation phases (day 24 to 1 year)

Wound care does not only involve just dressing with normal saline.  There are other factors to take into account for each patient

1. Proper assessment of the entire patient

Treatment of wound require detailed assessment of the patient’s general well-being and not just the wound alone.  All the patient’s risk factors have to be managed concurrently to ensure successful wound healing and this requires both doctor and nursing involvement

2. Wound characterisation and evaluation

Wounds come in all shapes, depths and sizes ranging from clean surgical incisions to dirty infected wounds.  There are many ways to treat a wound.  Each wound requires special attention to reduce the risk of infection and help the wound to heal better.

3. Ensure adequate nutrition and perfusion

Adequate nutrition is essential in wound healing and should not be overlooked.  Your healthcare practitioners have to address any protein-calorie malnutrition and to correct vitamin or mineral deficiencies to promote wound healing.  It is common to see wounds without adequate tissue oxygenation due to lack of blood circulation from diabetes, unrelieved pain, hypothermia (cold) or unhealthy blood vessels. 

4. Underlying Infection

A dirty wound has the risk of having multiple organisms as well as drug resistant bacteria.  It is important to have culture sampling to identify the organism so that your doctor can provide the correct medication to treat the infection.  Sometimes, the wound may need debridement to prepare a wound bed that is conducive for healing. 

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Disclaimer. TELEME blog posts contains general information about health conditions and treatments. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The information is not advice and should not be treated as such. 

If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition, you should seek immediate medical attention from your doctor or other professional healthcare providers. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website.