Treatment Approaches For Chronic Wounds
Chronic wounds are those that take a significant amount of time to heal properly like months and require advanced medical care & attention instead of traditional treatment. In simple words, when a minor or acute wound becomes infected and doesn’t heal within weeks or months, it is a chronic wound.
Factors contributing to a chronic wound include:
● Surgical wounds that are reopen
● Constant/extreme pressure on a significant body part especially the bony area ie. Pressure Ulcer.
● Lack of blood supply to the foot and back to the heart due to venous insufficiency known as Venous Ulceration and requires an appointment with avenous ulcer specialist.
● Increased bacterial invasion
● Inappropriate treatment
● Any underlying medical conditions such as high BP
● Obesity
● Smoking habits
● Poor diet
● Fewer body movements etc.
How Does A Chronic Wound Get Treated/Cured By “Wound Care Treatment California”?
At first, healthcare providers recommend cleaning, & covering any chronic wound with an appropriate dressing to prevent it from getting infected. But if the wound hasn't been cured after a long time despite the wound care, it is a matter of concern and various special treatments are prescribed & used in a leg ulcer wound treatment. What are they? Let’s find out:
Cleaning The Wound
This is probably the first step in treating any type of chronic wound. The patients are
recommended to clean the wound site thoroughly & regularly as prescribed by the wound care doctors. Make sure to clean or sanitize hands first before & after touching the wound. Apart from
this, in case of an infection, discolored skin, foul odor, or drainage, call a doctor with immediate effect.
Debridement
When a chronic wound isn’t healing within months, the doctors may perform a debridement procedure which is a process of removing dead or inflamed tissue. It is performed by using instruments such as tweezers or a scalpel. Since the process can be painful sometimes, an enzyme-based gel is applied to clean the wound.
The process is also executed using a high-pressure water jet or by using certain species of maggots (fly larvae) that are placed on the damaged tissue to remove them. The doctors may use a local anesthetic to cure the pain or may recommend painkillers before treatment. Debridement helps in venous leg ulcer treatment quicker and properly. In severe cases, debridement can be performed multiple times.
Wound Dressings
An appropriate wound dressing has a vital role in the effective recovery of a wound. With so many dressingtypes for chronic woundssuch as films, gauze, hydrogel dressings, hydrocolloid dressings, Hydrocolloid dressings, or dressings containing silver or alginates, it is better to consult with avenous leg ulcer specialist.
● Wash your hands with soap and water and carefully remove the old dressings.
● Take a look at the wound and look for any signs of infection or any changes to the wound. Also notice if there are increased pain, fever, or spikes in BP levels. If yes, then, call your doctor immediately.
● Clean the wound as the doctor recommended and apply dressings carefully.
● Wash your hands and sanitize the equipment that has been used.
Compression Stockings or Bandages
Compression stockings can help heal the wound by improving blood circulation in the body. It helps the veins to carry blood back to the heart and recover wounds quicker.
Antibiotics
Doctors sometimes can recommend the use of antibiotics to further prevent infection or other medical complications.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
In this therapy, the patients withchronic woundsare taken to a special chamber to breathe oxygen under high pressure. It helps heal wounds quickly with increased oxygen levels focused in the blood, improving blood supply.
Negative Pressure Wound Therapy
Also known asWound Vac Treatment, the wound is covered with airtight wound dressings attached to a vacuum pump through a thin tube. The pump sucks out fluid from the wound by creating negative pressure and putting the wound edge together.
Ultrasound and Electromagnetic Therapy
It treats wounds by using sound waves as the waves make the tissue warmer and help improve blood circulation. This therapy is still under review.
Skin Grafts
If the wound is so large and is not healing on its own, this treatment is recommended. During the procedure, the skin is taken from another part of the body and transplanted onto the wound.
To avoid any complications and to heal chronic wounds effectively, it is important to take good care of them and callWound Care Treatment Californiafor consultation.
