Wounds that don't heal
People hurt themselves on regular basis. Sometimes it happens that you see an injury and cannot even decide when you got it in the first place. Small cuts, bruises and scratches are part of life and they don't even grab that much of your attention if seen. A moderate wound takes about 2-3 weeks to heal on its own, give or take a few days. But some wounds take longer than that and there are some wounds that won't heal at all. There are wounds like bed sores, leg ulcers and cancer wounds that lower abdominal cramping heal in years that also incomplete sometimes. These types of wounds are known as chronic wounds.
There are many factors that affect the healing process. A wound may be of a normal type but the time taken in its healing maybe due to any infection or contamination that is retarding the process. In the case of infection the body puts all its energy in fighting the bacteria first and leaves little for the healing process. Some bacteria produce poisons that interfere with healing. Bite wounds would be a good example in this type. The first step of healing is sufficient blood flow in the aggravated area. Blood gives nutrients and oxygen to remove toxins and debris. If the wound has poor blood flow, it will take a longer time than usual. Sometime too much pressure also makes sores that won't heal. Also aging plays a great role in healing. Old people don't heal as fast as young ones. This is because of a slow endocrine system, weak antibody production and fragile skin.
There are other wounds however that don't heal despite all the blood flow and good health and environmental conditions. These are special chronic wounds due to special conditions. Diabetic foot ulcer would be a good example of such wounds that won't heal. These are very common among diabetic people and mostly occur in limbs and appendages. It has decreased growth levels because the musculoskeletal balance becomes impaired along with a leukocyte dysfunction in the immune system. Special medicines which increase the growth factors are employed to treat these wounds and are quite successful. Pressure ulcers are also categorized in chronic wounds. They occur when a constant pressure is applied in a bony area of the body. They majorly occur in people that are paralyzed or in coma who cannot constantly reposition themselves according to comfort.
Another type of sores that won't heal is venous stasis ulcers. They normally occur in the lower extremities and in areas where veins get congested. Due to less oxygen distribution in that area and leakage of macromolecules in the peri-vascular tissues these wounds are formed. Also the passage of the leukocytes becomes slow in the congested capillaries making them activated and thus damaging the vascular endothelium. Skin grafts and maintaining moist and clean wounds are the main points of the remedy. Certain special types of gels called hydrocolloid or hydrogel have been invented to keep these types of chronic wounds moist. Also lasers, oxygen therapies and negative pressure therapies are also being employed to treat these difficult wounds.
People hurt themselves on regular basis. Sometimes it happens that you see an injury and cannot even decide when you got it in the first place. Small cuts, bruises and scratches are part of life and they don't even grab that much of your attention if seen. A moderate wound takes about 2-3 weeks to heal on its own, give or take a few days. But some wounds take longer than that and there are some wounds that won't heal at all. There are wounds like bed sores, leg ulcers and cancer wounds that lower abdominal cramping heal in years that also incomplete sometimes. These types of wounds are known as chronic wounds.
There are many factors that affect the healing process. A wound may be of a normal type but the time taken in its healing maybe due to any infection or contamination that is retarding the process. In the case of infection the body puts all its energy in fighting the bacteria first and leaves little for the healing process. Some bacteria produce poisons that interfere with healing. Bite wounds would be a good example in this type. The first step of healing is sufficient blood flow in the aggravated area. Blood gives nutrients and oxygen to remove toxins and debris. If the wound has poor blood flow, it will take a longer time than usual. Sometime too much pressure also makes sores that won't heal. Also aging plays a great role in healing. Old people don't heal as fast as young ones. This is because of a slow endocrine system, weak antibody production and fragile skin.
There are other wounds however that don't heal despite all the blood flow and good health and environmental conditions. These are special chronic wounds due to special conditions. Diabetic foot ulcer would be a good example of such wounds that won't heal. These are very common among diabetic people and mostly occur in limbs and appendages. It has decreased growth levels because the musculoskeletal balance becomes impaired along with a leukocyte dysfunction in the immune system. Special medicines which increase the growth factors are employed to treat these wounds and are quite successful. Pressure ulcers are also categorized in chronic wounds. They occur when a constant pressure is applied in a bony area of the body. They majorly occur in people that are paralyzed or in coma who cannot constantly reposition themselves according to comfort.
Another type of sores that won't heal is venous stasis ulcers. They normally occur in the lower extremities and in areas where veins get congested. Due to less oxygen distribution in that area and leakage of macromolecules in the peri-vascular tissues these wounds are formed. Also the passage of the leukocytes becomes slow in the congested capillaries making them activated and thus damaging the vascular endothelium. Skin grafts and maintaining moist and clean wounds are the main points of the remedy. Certain special types of gels called hydrocolloid or hydrogel have been invented to keep these types of chronic wounds moist. Also lasers, oxygen therapies and negative pressure therapies are also being employed to treat these difficult wounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment