Generally, a wound on any part of your body will heal within a few days to weeks depending on its size, with or without medication. Medically, the body’s immune system has an automated mechanism that heals almost every wound.
However, ever wondered why some wounds won’t heal no matter what you do?
This is a common problem across the globe. Some won’t improve much even after trying every medication. What could be the problem?
If you are having such a problem, then here are some few facts that you ought to know. Firstly, a wound is a problem on the skin. When the skin is injured, then it comes out.
While some injuries are mild, others are deep and serious. While the mild ones take a few days to heal, the deep ones may take weeks.
However, there are instances when even the shallow cuts and injuries take a long time to heal. Could this be a symptom of an underlying health problem?
Yes, this might be as a result of numerous factors that are keenly examined in this article. Understanding these factors will guide you on how to deal with them faster. You will also learn how to identify an infected wound.
Wound healing is guaranteed, especially for normal people. It not healing is as a result of something serious that might require specialized medical attention. This article examines why some wounds won’t heal even after undergoing treatment and applying all the care products.
According to ahchealthnews.com, it is estimated that more than 6.5 million people globally have wounds that won’t heal.
This might happen due to the following reasons:
Ever heard of diabetic foot ulcers? These are recurrent causes that occur in the legs in people who are diabetic.
Medically, people who are diabetic don’t feel their legs, and can’t notice wounds until when they are in the advanced stages. At this point they are unmanageable.
Wounds that won’t heal for diabetic people are a real danger across the globe. You may have heard of people who have died as a result of this health problem.
On why diabetics heal more slowly than non-diabetics, sonomaorthopedics.com notes that a diabetic wound that won’t heal may take up to one year. Even afterward, they are likely to recur. It is estimated that a quarter of all diabetic people develop end up with this problem, especially on their feet.
In some extreme cases, they get worse and the legs have to be amputated. However, proper management practices can provide relief to diabetic patients.
What is an infection? This is a fungal, viral or bacterial attack on any body part, resulting in a lesion. These elements can attack an existing one or cause a new one.
If an existing wound after a surgery or injury is exposed to bacteria, fungi or viruses, then it is likely to take a little longer before healing.
Bacteria, fungi, and viruses might also attack an internal organ within the body. The internal attack may manifest through a lesion on the skin surface. Treating such cases is hard without establishing the primary cause.
On reasons wounds will not heal, woundsource.com notes that bacterial, fungal and viral infections are the main factors that make them heal slowly. However, eliminating them may speed up the process.
Ever heard of Edema? Mayo Clinic notes that edema is a common swelling in the hands, feet, arms, legs, and ankles resulting from fluids being trapped in the body tissues.
However, edema can affect other body parts rather than the ones noted above. The swelling can, at times, burst resulting in a wound that won’t heal. Edema is attributed to various factors such as:
Usually, fluid resulting from edema accumulates in the dermis and the skin. As a result of this accumulation, your skin may develop sores and ulcers. These sores and ulcers become wounds that don’t get better easily.
This type of pressure occurs in the parts of the body that experience excessive friction such as the feet. Due to their repetitive use, the feet develop some lesions.
On a wound that won’t heal, the New York Times notes that wounds, especially on the soles of your feet take a lot of time to recover, as the feet are in use every time. People have to wear slippers or shoes and walk.
This, in turn, creates a lot of pressure lesions. Such becomes pressure ulcers. Such ulcers form the best example of a wound not healing among many people.
You can recover faster by enhancing blood circulation on the injured part of your body. The healing of the injured tissues is as a result of platelets in the blood. Platelets facilitate blood clotting, thus you get well again.
If blood flow is compromised, then wounds might take a bit longer to heal. Some parts of the body, especially the feet, suffer from arterial insufficiency. In other instances, the arteries might be clogged such that very little blood passes through them.
In these two cases, the amount of blood flowing to the region is limited. This, in turn, slows the rate at which the recovery. However, this can be managed through medication or compression therapy.
Did you know that the type of food you eat determines the rate at which healing of wounds occurs? That is very true.
When you are injured, tissues get damaged. The body has to make tissues that would be used in healing the wound. How would such tissues be manufactured without eating the right type of food?
Before thinking of treatment that works best, think of the food you eat. For example, proteins are important building blocks in the body. In this context, damaged tissues take long to recover people who have protein malnutrition.
This means only one thing; you need to take a lot of proteins if you want your wounds to heal fast. Medics recommend that you take three times more protein than the required, especially when you have a wound.
Imagine a wound on your thumb or palm of your hands. These two body parts are repetitively in use. The affected area is usually rubbed against many things.
Unless you decide never to work, a wound on the right-hand palm may take a century to get well. This is a good example of the effect of too much trauma.
Ever seen a paralytic person or a person with a spinal injury? These people might sit or sleep in one position for hours. A wound, for example at the back, may take many days to be cured due to repetitive trauma.
If they are infected or a general wound that won’t heal, then you shouldn’t worry much. Here are some of the strategies that might be of great help to you:
