Real World Pressure Injuries: Staging Can Be Tricky
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
March 29, 2016
This wound care Q&A answers five of the most common questions about pressure injury staging dilemmas (that you probably didn’t learn from textbooks). In the world of wound care, just as in real life, the phrase, “Expect the unexpected” couldn’t be more appropriate. Clinicians can do everything exactly by the book, only to find that […]
It’s Complicated! Ostomy Patients and Peristomal Skin
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
March 18, 2016
This overview details the five main categories of peristomal skin complications that wound specialists commonly treat in ostomy patients. If you’ve worked with ostomy patients for any length of time, you know that maintaining a proper seal can be difficult once the peristomal skin (the skin surrounding a stoma) has been compromised. The resulting complications […]
Diabetic Wound Care: Monofilament Testing
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
March 11, 2016
Detecting neuropathy in the diabetic foot is crucial for patient care, which is why the 10-step monofilament test is a must when it comes to injury and ulceration prevention. Healing patients and helping them get on the road to recovery are always at the top of any wound clinician’s list. We are always on alert […]
Moisture Associated Skin Damage: Know Your Type
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
March 4, 2016
Know how to correctly identify these four common types of Moisture Associated Skin Damage (MASD) for best wound care practices. It might sound reasonable to assume that Moisture Associated Skin Damage (MASD) is the result of, well … moisture. The fact is that it takes more than just moisture to cause MASD, which is the […]
Skin Lesions: Spots on Skin that Aren’t Bruises
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
February 18, 2016
If you’ve ever noticed bruise-like spots on your skin that aren’t bruises, they may be skin lesions. So what might look like a bruise at first glance could really be a suspected deep tissue injury, purpura . . . or something else. Do you know the difference? We break down what a bruise is, petechiae […]
Essential Steps for Skin Tear Prevention
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
February 11, 2016
Skin tears are a common condition for the patients we care for, which is why it’s so important for clinicians to know who is at risk, and what can be done to minimize them. Painful. Disfiguring. Traumatic. Skin tears are all of these things, plus they can lead to further complications and serious infections. Unfortunately, […]
Warm Wound Healing? It’s All About Foam Dressings
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
February 4, 2016
Keeping a wound warm is an important part of wound care treatment, and foam dressing does the trick because it effectively maintains optimum temperatures and promotes healing. For wound care clinicians – and anyone else who ever treats wounds – it’s important to know that moist wounds heal faster. However, moisture on any surface (including wounds) […]
Dry Skin Alert: Foot Xerosis in Diabetic Patients
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
January 14, 2016
Diabetic wound management requires awareness, including knowing the signs and progression of xerosis – an abnormal dryness of skin. Patients with diabetes are prone to dry skin, particularly when blood glucose levels are running high. And as a clinician, one of the most common types of skin conditions you will see in your diabetic patients […]
Urgent! Risks and Diagnosis of Diabetic Foot Infections
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
January 8, 2016
For effective diabetic wound management, clinicians must know the risk factors for foot infections, and be able to diagnose them properly – and as soon as possible. Wound care clinicians deal with foot infections all the time, but when the patient is also diabetic, an infection can progress rapidly to a critical state. In fact, […]