Most of us go about our daily lives without incident, but something happens that results in us sustaining some sort of injury every now and then. While most of these injuries are often minor and take a couple of days to heal, the damage can be substantial and considered chronic.
Chronic wounds are wounds that start as acute wounds but don’t heal properly after treatment. They are often caused by bacterial infection, a weak immune system, or severe traumatic injury.
Some chronic wounds develop as a result of improper treatment. As such, you must observe all your wounds if you sustained some sort of injury.
In this article, we’ll take a look at three highly common wound treatments that you can expect from a top wound care health facility.
1. Wound Cleaning and Dressing
Wound cleaning and dressing is a very critical part of the wound treatment process. Cleaning the wound will help remove foreign debris and bacterial contaminants that may cause an infection.
The health professional will use medical supplies, such as clean gloves, moist gauze pads, sterile supplies, and a cleaning solution compatible with the wound tissue to clean the wound without damaging healthy tissue.
The wound will then use a dressing such as a bandage to cover the injury to protect it from further damage and promote quicker healing.
2. Wound Debridement
Wound debridement remains a steady cornerstone of proper wound treatment. It involves the removal of foreign debris as well as infected, damaged, or dead tissue for the wound to heal properly.
Debridement can be done either surgically or non-surgically through the use of special gels and dressings. Your assigned health professional will decide which option is better after conducting a proper assessment of the wound.
To ensure effective treatment, the diagnosis process will factor in the cause of the wound, its location on the body and size, signs of bacterial load, and the potential complications that may delay the healing or exacerbate the wound.
3. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a type of treatment that involves exposing the wound to 100% pure oxygen to speed up the healing process. This process is usually done inside a hyperbaric chamber where air pressure is about two or three times higher than usual.
You can expect the increased air pressure to simulate a temporary feeling of fullness in your ears, similar to what you might experience in a plane. If you find the feeling uncomfortable, you can relieve yourself of it by swallowing or yawning.
For effective results, you may need more than one session, but this is dependent on the condition of your wound.
In Need of Proper Wound Care, OC Has the Best Treatment Methods Available
The truth is nearly everyone will experience an open wound at some point. It’s a part of the beautiful journey of life.
While most wounds can be taken care of at home, some can be quite severe and will need immediate medical attention. If that is the case, expect to undergo any of the wound treatment options highlighted above for a quick and successful recovery.