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What Happened to Practicing Wound Care Basics?

Friday, September 23rd, 2022

Having been involved in wound care for about 25 years, I have seen many changes in our understanding of wound healing, research evidence, and technology, often straying from wound care basics.  

As I hear my students describe common practices today and the many myths of wound care, I’m led to wonder, “What happened to starting with wound care basics for healing?”

A colleague of mine once stated there are basically two fundamentals to healing wounds: a healthy patient and a healthy wound environment. Once those are accomplished, topical treatments will not make that big of a difference.

However, clinicians often cling to some “holy grail” treatment in the form of a dressing or adjunctive modality that will somehow overcome the need to practice solid, evidence-based wound care.

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Posted in Nutrition & Wound Management, Skin & Wound Management, Wound Assessment & Documentation, Wound Healing | Comments Off on What Happened to Practicing Wound Care Basics?

Maximizing At-Home Wound Care for Patients

Monday, September 13th, 2021

Having worked in the home health industry for almost 10 years, I learned a lot about how to maximize my impact with wound care patients. I’ve also learned how to help the home health agency become financially efficient and still have good wound healing outcomes.

My goal is to share some general insights on how different therapies are an important part of at-home wound care plans for patients in the home health setting, as well as offer some suggestions on how to manage wound care in the most cost-efficient way.

Keep in mind that each state practice act may be different. In general, physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) can provide similar services in the treatment of wounds. However, they also bring unique differences.

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Posted in Home Health, Skin & Wound Management, Specialties | Comments Off on Maximizing At-Home Wound Care for Patients

Unpacking the Fundamentals of Burn Wounds

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

As a wound care clinician, you may be called to work in a burn unit or be consulted on burn wounds. If that is not your normal work setting, it can be overwhelming.

Our purpose in this article is to address the fundamentals and provide a solid working knowledge of how to manage burn wounds.

Let’s start with terminology. The American Burn Association changed the classification of burns from the traditional first-, second-, third-, and fourth-degree burns to the following:

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Posted in Skin & Wound Management, Traumatic Wounds, Wound Assessment & Documentation | Comments Off on Unpacking the Fundamentals of Burn Wounds

Let’s Walk Through the Stages of Wound Healing

Wednesday, August 4th, 2021

When teaching, I often get the question “What’s my role in the different stages of wound healing?”

To address this common question, I thought a review of basic wound physiology and the clinicians’ role during each of the stages of wound healing (aka phases of wound healing) would be helpful.

We know that the four phases of wound healing are driven by a mixture of chemical stimuli (growth factors and cytokines). Any diminished or excessive levels of these different chemicals can have a negative impact on the wound healing process. The phases are continuous and overlap each other to some extent. However, they must occur in a particular sequence to result in a healed wound.

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Make Sure the Cost of Wound Care Makes Sense for Everyone

Friday, March 26th, 2021

Most of us are familiar with the saying “you get what you pay for.” And when it comes to the cost of wound care products, there is definitely truth to that.

However, when considering the overall treatment plan, spending more doesn’t always equate to best practice or best results.

Cost-effective wound care means providing the most successful treatment to heal the wound at the least amount of cost. And with annual treatment costs of wound care in the billions in the U.S. alone, there’s plenty of reason to be cost conscious when choosing treatment strategies. Let’s take a look at some of the basic concepts behind this approach.

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Posted in Skin & Wound Management, Wound Care Costs & Outcomes | Comments Off on Make Sure the Cost of Wound Care Makes Sense for Everyone

Non-Weightbearing vs. Offloading: Is There a Difference?

Wednesday, October 14th, 2020

Have you ever been confused about the difference between non-weightbearing and offloading?  

These wound care terms are often used when referring to the treatment of diabetic and neuropathic ulcers and pressure injuries.

Both can be critical in the successful healing of either type of wound. However, they are not the same thing.

Let’s begin with defining the terms.

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Posted in Compression, Pressure Injuries, Skin & Wound Management | Comments Off on Non-Weightbearing vs. Offloading: Is There a Difference?

Learn When You Should Apply a Hydrogel Dressing to a Wound

Wednesday, September 30th, 2020

As wound care clinicians, you must be aware of the different types of wound care dressings, such as hydrogel dressings.

A hydrogel dressing — also known as hydrated polymer dressings — consist of 90% water in a gel base that regulate fluid exchange from the wound surface.

It absorbs small amounts of fluid and donating moisture to the wound bed.

These dressings are available in sheets, amorphous gels, or impregnated gauze and packing strips.

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Posted in Dressings, Skin & Wound Management | Comments Off on Learn When You Should Apply a Hydrogel Dressing to a Wound

Wound Treatment: 3 Questions to Help You Determine Appropriate Care

Thursday, September 24th, 2020

How many times have you wondered, or questioned, whether an ordered wound treatment was appropriate? 

I would not be not surprised if you said, “More often than I would like.” Unfortunately, that is the reality for wound care specialists today.

According to a 2018 BMJ Open article, nurse researchers found an overuse of wound treatments with limited evidence and low value. They also found an underuse of evidence-based treatments.

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When to Use a Collagen Wound Dressing on Your Patients

Wednesday, September 9th, 2020

As wound care certified (WCC) clinicians, you should be aware of the types of dressings available to treat patients in your care.

Wound care dressings come in various shapes, sizes and have indications for their use, including collagen wound dressings.

Let’s explore which types of dressings are focused on collagen.

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Posted in Dressings, Skin & Wound Management | Comments Off on When to Use a Collagen Wound Dressing on Your Patients

Wound Temperature Can Affect the Wound Healing Process

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

A patient’s core body temperature must be above 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit and below 107.6 for wound healing to occur.

The loss of moisture from any surface by evaporation is accompanied by cooling of the surface. So, as wound tissues lose moisture, a cooling effect occurs resulting in lower wound temperature.

Even a decrease of only 2 degrees Celsius is sufficient enough to affect the biological healing process of your patients. This is because cells and enzymes function optimally only at normal body temperature.

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