• What should you do when you come into contact with an open wound?
• What procedures should you follow to treat open wounds?
• Why would you need to ensure that the victim of the open wound has minimal scarring?

Accidents happen, we all know that and while you can not rubber-pad the entire world, it is beneficial for everyone to know some of the best ways to treat open wounds. The following ways will help you treat an open wound when accidents happen.

1. Applying Pressure

One of the very first things that you should do when you are doing an open wound treatment is applying pressure. As you may know, pressure is one thing that will help the wound stop bleeding.

2. Cleaning the Wound from Infection

After the bleeding has stopped, you definitely want to make sure that the wound does not get infected. Open wound care is extremely important, especially if the accident just happened and the wound is getting worse. Cleaning the open wound out is one great way to treat open wounds, a simple cotton ball and some peroxide can work wonders.

3. Washing the Wound with Cool Water

Depending on how bad the wound is, another open wound treatment can be running the wound under cool and flowing water, this will not only shock the wound into stopping bleeding but it will also clean it out. This open wound care treatment is only good for minor cuts and scrapes, do not use if the wound is deep as you can prolong the bleeding instead of stopping it.

4. Washing Wound with Antibacterial Soap

While cleaning the wound is an important step, if you do not have any peroxide around anywhere, you can also use anti-bacterial soap. Warm water is going to be best for the wound when you are cleaning it as well.

5. Get the Wound Stitched

There is another type of wound that requires a different way to treat open wounds. This type of wound is the type that gaps open and has jagged edges. For these types of open wounds you will definitely want to consult a doctor and see if you need stitches. Stitches are sometimes necessary, especially with open wounds.

6. Dress the Wound

After you have gone through all of the steps to assess the wound and go through all of the open wound treatments, you definitely want to make sure that you dress the wound. Exposing an open wound to oxygen for too long will only cause infection and no one wants that!

7. Frequently Re-Bandage the Wound

Finally, after you have gone through everything from the beginning, you want to make sure that you are changing the dressings on the open wound every six hours if it is a really bad wound or twice a day if the wound is pretty normal. Making sure that the bandages are changed is a very important part of treating open wounds as you want to make sure that the wound does not get an infection because of bad bandages.

• Before you turn to any treatment for a burn, you must first determine the cause of the burn and its severity
• Skin burns are extremely common and are usually caused from a variety of things such as hot water in the kitchen or hot oil on the stove

Skin burns are a common home accident, but many people do not know how to treat them effectively or when to seek additional medical attention. Before you can determine the proper treatment for skin burns, you need to determine the cause of the burn and its severity. Then you can determine the best way to proceed.

The Cause & Severity of the Burn

The vast majority of burns at home begin in the kitchen or bathroom. Very hot water, splashes of hot oil or cooking sauces, or even direct contact with cooking flames or hot cookware can cause very serious burns. In some cases, burns are the result of small fires, possibly from smoking. However, burns from chemicals or from electricity can also occur. The latter types of burns need to be treated differently than the former as we will discuss later in the article.

After you’ve established the cause, you need to determine how severe the burn is. First degree burns are usually red and swollen. They can be painful, but the skin isn’t showing any signs of blistering. Second degree burns, on the other hand, are going to produce blisters. The skin will show signs of swelling and will be a brighter color. In most cases, the skin will have a wet appearance. Pain associated with second degree burns is usually intense.

The most severe burns are called third degree. They often produce no pain because the burn has destroyed the nerve endings that send pain signals to the brain. The skin is going to be discolored and can appear white to the color of charred meat. Unlike a second degree burn, the skin is dry in appearance.

Skin Burn Treatment

With first degree burns and small second degree burns (smaller than 3 inches in diameter), your first task is to remove any clothing from the burned area. Then run cool water over the area. While you may be tempted to apply ice to the area for the numbing affect, this is not a good idea. For one, the ice can delay healing and can make the pain worse. For another, the ice could cause frostbite on the area. Clean the burned area gently and wrap loosely in gauze. Any over-the-counter pain medication will help take the edge off the pain which may last for a day or two.

You definitely do not want to apply any type of butter (a common old wives’ remedy) to the burn or break the blisters if they do form. Both of these actions can lead to infections.

If you have a more serious burn, you need to contact emergency medical help immediately. Follow the steps for a minor burn in the meantime, although you may want to avoid taking anything for the pain. The medical personnel will provide you with pain relief once you reach the hospital for treatment.

Chemical & Electrical Burns

Both of these types of burns should be treated as severe burns. Both can be washed with large amounts of cool water, but be careful not to touch the person (escpecially if electrical burn) as long as they are near the source of the burn. Also, do not apply any types of chemicals, ointments, or anything else to a chemical burn because of the potential for a serious chemical reaction.

• Wound healing is an extremely important process that you can help by various means that this article will discuss
• The way in which you treat wounds is important, especially if you have high blood sugar
• How you treat open wounds is even more important

Over time, elevated blood sugar levels because of diabetes can pose some serious complications to your health. You’ve probably heard about some of these complications, including blindness and higher risks of heart disease. However, one of the most common problems is the increase in time required for wound healing. Unfortunately, this problem, one that may seem so minor, can have long term, major complications.

Why is Wound Healing Reduced Because of Diabetes?

When you have elevated blood sugar, one of the primary problems associated with these levels is that you have a reduced ability to heal properly. There are a number of reasons for this connection. One is poor circulation. When you have elevated blood sugar, fatty deposits can end up building up on artery walls. The extra sugars can end up damaging proteins along the lining of the arteries as well. When the blood can’t circulate efficiently, especially to extremities like the feet, healing is minimized.

Another problem can be nerve damage. Neuropathy is a complication of elevated blood sugar. When this occurs, you may not notice right away when you have an injury. This means that the injury could become more severe and more difficult to heal. This also means that the chances for infection are higher.

Even more importantly is that the immune system simply doesn’t work well in the presence of elevated blood sugar. As a result, wound healing is slower. Infections are also common because of the slowed healing, making the infection harder to get rid of once it develops.

Problems Associated with Slow Wound Healing

If you have a small cut on your arm that seems to heal too slowly, you might not think anything of it. However, elevated blood sugar does not always cause minor complications like this. Let’s say you develop a blister on your foot. For most people, this is not a serious problem. For people with elevated blood sugar levels, however, that blister can continue to worsen without proper healing. If it becomes infected, a person could literally lose a foot if that infection spreads.

In the United Kingdom, one in six people who have diabetes develop foot ulcers because of the combination of nerve damage and slow wound healing. Even if these ulcers do heal eventually, they come back and require frequent medical treatment because of complications with elevated blood sugar levels. About 10 percent of these foot ulcers end up leading to amputations, which means this can be a real risk if you don’t have your diabetes managed well.

Related Complications

Although the increased risk of amputation is greater when you have extremely elevated blood sugar levels, there are other problems you should be concerned about. With reduced wound healing capabilities, you may have problems with surgical procedures. Remember that fast healing is important in surgery. When that ability is compromised as a result of poor diabetic management, you could end up at greater risk for complications and infections following a surgery. That’s definitely not something to take for granted.

• Wound healing is one extremely important process
• The manner in which you treat open wounds should be a careful one that first involves determining the cause of the wound and the severity
• How you treat wounds is important and the best ways are discussed in this article

Wounds are breaks in our skin that usually affects the outer most skin layer know as the epidermis. Wounds can be caused due to various reasons, but the most ordinary ones are scrapes, burn, lacerations, punctures and cuts. There are different treatments for different wounds and the depending on the type of wound, how it occurred, and the severity of the wound.

All our tissues heal after a certain period of time, some leaving behind scars. A wound needs proper care preventing infection or scarring. The healing process is very important and it becomes essential to take good care of any injured area.

The healing process involves 4 different phases:

The Inflammatory Phase: This phase starts with the injury itself. During this phase you will find that the wound stars bleeding, and the blood vessels are narrowing right away. At the same time the formation of clots and chemical substances being released right into the injury for the healing process to begin. The wound is then cleared of debris by the specialized cells and this may take many days to complete.

The Proliferative Phase: This is the second phase of wound healing where the formation of cell latticework or matrix accumulate. New blood vessels and skin cells will be formed on the matrix formation. The wound will appear red or pinkish in color due to newly formed blood vessels; better known as capillaries. These blood vessels further supply nutrients and oxygen to the rebuilding cells in order to continue the growth of new cells and also support proteins mainly collagen. The collagen functions like that of a support where new tissue builds. Collagen is the foremost substance in the scar that will form at the end of the healing.

The Remodeling Phase: This phase begins after 2 to 3 weeks after the injury. By this time, the collagen is better organized, strengthening the tissues. The density of the blood vessels lessens and the wound loses its pink color. The injured area will strengthen and over this course of time, about 6 months, and the wound can heal up to 70% of the original skin.

Epithelialization: This process involves the laying down of epithelial cells, the new skin. During this phase, the skin, between the body and its outer environment, forms a protective barrier. Protection is the main purpose of this barrier keeping the wound from bacteria and excessive loss of water. This layer needs reconstruction that begins within a few hours from the injury and the whole process takes about 24 to 48 hours for completion. In the end, you can see a clean and well-structured or stitched wound. An open wound can take more time to heal (7 to 10 days) as the inflammatory phase is extended and that leads to scarring. Scarring occurs only when the injury goes deep into the skin layers and reaches the dermis layer of the skin.

Types of Wounds:

• Cuts and scrapes are mostly superficial and occur on the skin’s surface. The deeper layers of the skin are least affected in this case and there is minimum bleeding. There may be a very slow oozing instead of blood. Such wounds are caused due to friction or if the injured area has been rubbed against a coarse surface.
• Lacerations or cuts pass though different skin layers and enters right into the deep and fat tissues. The bleeding is much more profuse or brisk. The common causes of laceration include falling against any hard surface, blows by a blunt object, or contact with any sharp object.
• Puncture wounds are usually caused when any sharp and pointed object makes hard contact and enters the skin. Some of the common causes of puncture wounds are needle sticks on fingers, stepping on nails, and knife cuts. Often with these, there is minimal bleeding and the wound is small.
• Animal bites and human bites can be considered a laceration, a puncture or a blending of both. Contaminated saliva is always present in these wounds and this can cause infection. In such cases, these wounds would need special care.

Wound Care At Home

Wash abrasions and cuts properly at home at least 4 times a day for 48 hours and then the wound needs to be covered by a proper sterile bandage. If the wound is severe, you may want to call for medical attention.

- Stop the bleeding and use a clean bandage on the affected area.

- The wound should be cleaned with water you may need to apply pressure. Be sure to remove all the debris and dirt. Do not scrub the wound as this can irritate and cause more bleeding.

- Apply the proper antiseptic and sterile application to prevent infection.

- If the injured person is not up to day on tetanus shots, one may be needed. Consult you physician to schedule an appointment to get a shot and to determine if antibiotics may be necessary.

- If the wound is serious and deep, stitches may be necessary and a doctor or emergency room technician can take care of this.

- If the injured person loses consciousness, call the 911 emergency phone number and stay with the injured person.

Preventions

One should be very careful while handling sharp objects or working near dangerous areas. Though injuries need not necessarily be associated with sharp objects or working conditions, it is better to be careful and aware of your surroundings at all times. Most wounds can be prevented when caution and care are used.

• Pay attention while you are cleaning sharp objects like scissors, knives, cooking utensils, etc as these can sometimes cause severe injury.
• Wear shoes or slippers when you are indoors to prevent anything from pricking into your feet or prevent slipping on areas that are wet or smooth.
• Use helmets while you ride a motorcycle or a bicycle.
• Be careful while handling tools of any kind.
• Use caution when approaching animals that are not familiar to you.

• Wound healing is something not to be considered lightly because if a wound does not heal properly, a serious infection can result
• How you treat open wounds is probably the most important in the wound process
• Make sure that you treat wounds with the utmost care

Treating a wound properly helps repair the breaks that occur in the skin or the mucous membrane. Cuts, burns, scrapes, punctures and lacerations all need proper treatment so healing can occur without complication. Complications usually refer to severe wounds with extensive blood loss, affected blood vessels, nerves, tendons or infections. If any foreign particles are left in the wound, the risk of complication increases.

Some wounds tend to last longer or become chronic due to some illness or surgery. These wounds heal very slowly or not at all. Chronic wounds are difficult to treat and require special treatment.

Chronic wounds are very common in elderly patients and bedridden people. They are characterized by the loss of underlying tissues. Conventional healing treatments are not so effective on chronic wounds. The edges of a chronic wound are not well approximated and they are accompanied by tissue deficit. The medical term for a chronic wound is “pressure ulcer”.

There are different types of chronic wounds. They are listed below:

• Diabetic wounds: Diabetes is a severe disease and patients suffering from this disease might often experience wounds or cuts that don’t heal over time. Diabetic patients often suffer from severe complications like foot lesions. In some cases, amputation of the foot may be in order.

• Bed Sores (Pressure sores / Pressure ulcers): Sustained pressure often causes damage to the skin and tissue. This happens due to prolonged pressure on certain parts of the body like the buttocks, heels and hips. Proper care is important as these sores are prone to infection.

• Surgical wounds: Surgical wounds are also very common. Prior to a surgical procedure, patient might develop severe complications like bleeding, blood clotting, bruising, tissue necrosis, infection, or dehiscence (opening of the wound). These wounds are either left open or may be closed with sutures, stitches, healing strips or staples.

Chronic wounds require treatment and you must immediately contact a doctor. If you notice any signs of chronic wounds, take immediate action. The signs of chronic wounds include:

• The presence of foreign particles in the wound.

• A wound that does not heal or heals very slowly.

• The occurrence of infection. It can be characterized by swelling, redness, tenderness, warmth, increased pain and pus formation. An infection can also lead to a rise in body temperature.

• The wounded area seems numb and frozen.

Chronic wounds, if ignored, can lead to severe compilations like:

• Infection: Infections can be fatal and might lead to complications like cellulites, osteomyelitis (bone inflammation), septic arthritis (bacterial infection effecting the joints), and sepsis (life threatening infection in blood).

• Endocarditis: Inflammation caused in the lining of heart.

• Heterotopic bone formation: The abnormal growth of bones in unusual parts of the body.

• Maggot infestation: Self-explanatory and disgusting.

• Meningitis: A typical problem with the membrane that covers the brain and the spinal cord that causes an inflammation.

• Amyloidosis: This is a rare disease caused by amyloid accumulation. Amyloid is a form of starch and protein that accumulates in the tissues and organs thus impairing their functions.

Wounds can be treated with medicines and other treatments. Sometimes, nutritional factors can also be responsible for slow recovery. Some medicines might also slow down the healing process. A lack of proteins, vitamins and zinc contributes to a slower recovery process.

B-100 Complex can also help in the wound healing process, not to mention its other great abilities such as that it stabilizes and increases metabolic rates, promotes healthy skin and muscle tone, enhances immune and nervous system functioning, and promotes cell growth and division.