While most wounds heal relatively quickly, those known as chronic wounds can last months without any change. According to Advances in Wound Care, 2.5% of people in the U.S. live with a chronic wound that impacts their daily lives. One reason chronic wounds get so severe is because they aren’t treated properly. People suffering from chronic wounds need a wound care expert to help heal the injury and improve their quality of life. A wound care center solely focuses on caring for chronic wounds and helping patients on their way to recovery. Continue reading to learn what exactly wound clinics do to heal chronic injuries.
Professionally Assess the Wound
Just like any other medical appointment, a visit to a wound care center will start with you explaining your symptoms to a doctor. Next, a wound care expert will need to physically assess your wound. They’ll take note of the wound’s size, depth, and any signs of infection. Your doctor will also ask you questions, mainly how long the wound has been there and if it’s changed at all since it appeared. Specialists at wound clinics will also be in contact with your primary care provider so they can better understand your medical history and create a strong care plan.
One of the most important reasons for your wound assessment is so your doctor can determine the cause of the chronic injury. This is crucial to understanding the best way to treat your wound. While you’re at a wound care center, specialists may need to check your blood circulation, look for signs of bacteria and viruses, or even take x-rays to see how serious the injury is. In some cases, blood tests are also performed to determine what is affecting your healing process. There are many reasons why a chronic wound might occur, including:
- Nonhealing surgical wounds
- Diabetes
- Pressure ulcers
- Traumatic injury
After the specialists at the wound clinic determine what caused your chronic wound, they will work with you to create a care plan that meets your needs.
Perform Advanced Treatment Options
Chronic wounds will not go away on their own and need specialized treatment to heal. Wound care centers offer various advanced methods proven to help heal these chronic injuries. First, there’s the debridement process which removes all the dead or infected skin from the wound. This must be performed by a wound expert to ensure all unwanted skin is properly removed. Debridement can also be a painful process, which is why wound clinics provide a local anesthetic when using this treatment.
The more advancements that are made in technology and the medical field, the more treatment options become available to wound care centers. For example, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) helps treat infection by creating a vacuum that pulls the fluids out of the wound. This removes dead and infected skin from the area which speeds up the healing process. Another state-of-the-art treatment is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This method places patients inside a special chamber with higher air pressure. The extra oxygen in this space supports faster growth of new blood vessels which helps fight infections and heal wounds. A wound care expert must be the one to perform these treatments if they are to be effective.
Prevent Infection with Dressing
After your chronic injuries have been treated for the day, the experts at the wound care center will dress them to prevent infection. This requires more than wrapping a bandage around the wound. Your injury will be cleaned with soap, water, saline, and any other cleanser your doctor may recommend. Next your wound expert will apply the new dressing. The kind of bandaging will depend on the type of chronic wound and its severity. In some cases, regular gauze will suffice. However, hydrogel or hydrocolloid dressings may also be used to treat dry or draining wounds respectively. In severe cases, a wound care center may apply a layer of bioengineered skin to act as a support for your tissue to grow back. No matter which dressing is chosen, it is best to have a wound care expert apply it to ensure optimal healing.
Educate Patients
Treatment doesn’t end when you walk out of a wound care center. You still have to live with your chronic wound until your next appointment. At the end of your visit to a wound clinic you should receive instructions on how to clean and redress your wounds at home. You will also be given a list of symptoms to look out for that could indicate infection or delayed healing. The last thing you want is for your chronic wound to get worse and impact your daily life even more.
Can’t Make it to a Wound Clinic? Reneuvia Can Come to You!
Wound care centers provide patients with expert treatment to help their chronic wounds heal. But what if you’re unable to travel to a wound clinic? You need a professional wound expert to treat your chronic injury. Reneuvia is here to help by providing at-home wound care services with one of our wound experts. Refer a patient or enroll yourself today to get the care you need no matter where you are.
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