How dietary protein aids in wound healing

This article from Wound Care Advisor discusses the role of nutrition – specifically, protein and amino acids – in healing wounds. Adequate protein is crucial for proper recovery, and the article offers a number of suggestions on ways to increase protein intake and work with patients to ensure that they are getting the nutrition they need for proper wound healing.

https://woundcareadvisor.com/how-dietary-protein-intake-promotes-wound-healing-vol2-no6/

Wound Types & Wound Healing: Part II

In Part I of our short series on wound types and wound healing, we looked at the two main types of wounds, open and closed, and the main categories of open wounds.

Since closed wounds are not treated using wound vacs – or negative pressure wound therapy – we’ll focus in this article on the types of complications that can occur with open wounds.
 

Open Wound Complications

In open wounds, the skin is broken, cut or split in some way. This leaves the underlying tissue – and potentially bone, muscle and organs – open to the air, which can result in problems with overall healing.

Most small, minor wounds can be treated at home by washing the area carefully with soap and water, using a mild disinfectant to remove dirt and debris, and applying a sterile dressing or bandage to cover the area. Depending on the cause and severity, many small wounds will heal on their own in a few days or weeks.

However, even small wounds can develop serious problems. Let’s take a look at some signs of open wound complications.

Infections

Many open wounds happen due to accidents and are caused by objects that puncture or break the skin, such as metal nails or edges, knives, broken glass, teeth, wooden splinters, etc. These objects are often dirty and can carry bacteria or other organisms that get under the skin and enter the surrounding blood or tissue.

However, it’s possible for infection to occur in any open wounds, including surgical incisions.

If an open wound becomes infected, symptoms can include:

·      Redness, red streaks or swelling – Initially, there may be some redness and swelling around the opening of the wound, which is normal, but if the color worsens, streaks develop (also known as lymphangitis), or swelling increases, it usually means that infection is present.

·      Fluid, pus or draining from the wound – Again, it’s normal to have some clear or slightly yellow drainage, especially from surgical wounds, but if the color turns cloudy, greenish or dark, or if the area has a strong odor, this indicates a problem.

·      Heat or warmth – If infection is present, the body will send additional blood cells to the surrounding area to help fight it. This can make the skin feel warm.

·      Increased pain – There is often mild to severe pain at a wound site when an injury, accident or surgery takes place. However, this pain should decrease over time. Sudden or worsening pain at the site usually indicates a problem.

·      Feeling sluggish, tired or feverish – A fever of over 100° for several hours, or an ongoing feeling of malaise, usually indicates that the body is trying to fight off infection.

In addition, if a wound is not healing and improving over time, this usually indicates that there may be infection present.

Severe infections in an open wound can result in problems such as lockjaw (caused by tetanus bacteria), gangrene (caused by a variety of bacteria, including Clostridium and Streptococcus), and sepsis.
 

Wound closing and healing

To heal properly, open wounds need just the right amount of moisture and to be protected from infection while closing.

Small wounds can be covered or closed with small adhesive strips or sterile bandages. Larger wounds, however, may require stitches, staples or other treatments to help them close and to prevent infection. Closing the wound brings separated tissue together to promote the healing process.

When treating complex open wounds, there are a variety of treatments that may be used to help the area heal. In the final post of our short series on wound types and healing, we’ll take a look at how negative pressure (NPWT) can be used to help treat and close complex open wounds.

Interested in learning more about wound vacs and NPWT? Contact The Wound Vac Company today.

Note: Important material for this article came from woundcarecenters.org.

Wound Types & Wound Healing: Part I

Note: Key primary material for this article came from woundcarecenters.org.
 

Wound vacs – and negative pressure wound therapy, or NPWT – are used to treat a variety of different wounds in patients. But what exactly is a wound? What are the different types and how are they treated using a wound vac?

In this first post in our short series on wounds and healing, we’ll start by taking a look at wound types and explore some of the most common ways they’re caused.
 

Wound categories

There are two basic types, or classifications, of wounds: Open and closed.

Closed wounds are those where the skin is not broken. Closed wounds include simple injuries like basic bruises, where you bump into something and later experience redness, bleeding and/or discoloration underneath the surface of the skin at the site.

More serious closed wounds take place when someone is violently hit by an object. A direct blow can cause more severe internal bleeding, tissue damage and even muscle damage. However, the damage in these closed wounds is still below the surface of the skin.

In open wounds, the skin is split, cut or cracked open in some way. Open wounds leave underlying tissue – and sometimes bone and muscle – exposed to the air, as well as to dirt and bacteria.

Many people think that open wounds need air to heal; however, what’s most important is that wounds get just the right amount of moisture they need to heal and that they’re protected from infection while closing.

Wound vacs and NPWT are used exclusively for open wounds, where they’re used to help close the skin while providing moisture and protection from harmful bacteria.
 

Types of open wounds

Open wounds fall into several major categories, including:

·       Abrasions: These are shallow, irregular wounds on the upper layers of skin, due to contact with a rough or smooth surface, such as when you scrape your knee or fall off a bicycle and get “road rash.” There’s usually minor bleeding and little pain with these wounds.

·       Punctures: Punctures are small and usually round. They’re caused by objects like needles, nails or teeth, such as in the case of a human or animal bite. They’re sometimes caused intentionally – for instance, when you get a flu shot – but are often accidental. The wound size, depth, bleeding and pain are directly related to the size and force of the object.

·       Penetrations: This type of wound takes place when an object or force breaks through the skin and damages underlying tissue, muscle or organs. Penetrations have different sizes, shapes and levels of severity depending on the cause, and can be life-threatening.

·       Lacerations: Lacerations are tears in the skin with irregular, torn edges. They’re usually deeper than abrasions and cause more pain and bleeding, and they’re often caused by trauma or are the result of an accident.

·       Incisions: Incisions generally result from surgical procedures or from the skin being cut with a sharp object like a scalpel, knife or scissors. Incisions usually have sharp, smooth edges and lines.

·       Gunshot wounds: These are penetrating wounds caused by bullets from a firearm. Entrance wounds may have burn marks or soot on the edges and surrounding tissue. If a bullet goes completely through the body, the exit wound will be larger and more irregular than the entrance wound. The fast, spinning movement of a bullet can cause serious damage to tissue, vital organs and blood vessels as it passes through the body.

In our next post in this short series, we’ll take a look at the complications that can occur with open wounds and begin to explore how wound vacs can be used to treat them.

Interested in learning more about wound vacs and NPWT? Contact The Wound Vac Company today.