Everything you need to know about Wounds & Wound Management
Updated: Oct 7, 2021
Skin is the largest organ in the human body, and any damage to it, whether from a wound or a cut, causes health concerns. Wounds have a major impact on patient function, quality of life, and can maybe become even life-threatening based on severity. Wounds are classified into three types
HOW TO ASSESS THE WOUND?
By using TIME (T=tissue; I=infection/inflammation; M=moisture balance; E=wound edges) Introduced in 2003 as a management tool for accurate wound assessment. This tool assists practitioners in conducting a systematic wound assessment and selecting appropriate wound care strategies based on the wound's complexity.
WOUND HEALING Wound healing is a complicated process that requires a complex interaction of numerous regulatory variables that work together to repair the skin barrier function that has been damaged. Acute wounds heal normally in an orderly, efficient manner and progress in four distinct phases as follows: Haemostasis, Inflammation, Remodelling and Proliferation.
FIRST AID FOR WOUNDS
Wash hands – Before treating or applying any first aid treatments to an open wound, it’s important to wash your hands first. This helps keep the wound clean and prevent infection.
Stop the bleeding – The next important step in wound care is to stop the bleeding. For deep wounds like lacerations and avulsions, it’s the utmost priority to stop the haemorrhage to prevent hypovolemic shock (loss of significant volume of blood) which is potentially fatal. Apply gentle pressure with a clean cloth or bandage. Elevate the wound until the bleeding stops.
Clean the cut or wound — After making sure the wound is no longer bleeding, give it a five-minute soak in clean water. Ensure that all dirt and debris has been removed. Disinfect - Use a topical antiseptic to avoid infection.
Dress the wound — Place a sterile gauze pad over the wound and fix it with adhesive adhesives. Minor scratches or abrasions, on the other hand, can be left exposed.
Refer to a doctor or a hospital - If the cut is deep and bleeding is profuse, see a doctor or take the patient to the hospital. Deep, bleeding wounds may necessitate more intensive care, such as suturing or other surgical operations.
CHALLENGES IN WOUND MANAGEMENT Despite advancements in wound care technology, various hurdles must be overcome in order to achieve early and efficient wound healing.
Wound assessment: A key difficulty for wound management is the lack of appropriate methods to assess the wound's complexity and severity.
TIME framework tool helps in accurate wound assessment.
Scar formation: Controlling and removing scars that emerge after wound healing is another problem in wound care. Excessive scar formation occurs as a result of the prolonged inflammatory phase.
Unresolved infections: Prolonged wound healing can lead to infection in the wound, which must be treated as soon as possible. Infections in wounds put the patient's life in jeopardy. Wounds have a tremendous impact on both the quality of life of persons who suffer from them and on the healthcare systems around the world. The number of people with wounds is growing, and this is likely to continue into the future as a result of demographic trends.
Hence proper wound care is crucial not only because it minimizes the recovery time but also because it drastically lowers the chance of complications which can potentially affect a person’s health and well-being.
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