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A chronic wound is a wound that does not progress through the normal stages of wound healing—haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling—in a predictable and timely manner. Typically, wounds that do not heal within three months are classified as chronic. [ 1 ]
The wound-healing process is not only complex but fragile, and it is susceptible to interruption or failure leading to the formation of non-healing chronic wounds. Factors that contribute to non-healing chronic wounds are diabetes , venous or arterial disease , infection, and metabolic deficiencies of old age.
Venous ulcers are costly to treat, and there is a significant chance that they will recur after healing; [3] [10] one study found that up to 48% of venous ulcers had recurred by the fifth year after healing. [10] However treatment with local anaesthetic endovenous techniques suggests a reduction of this high recurrence rate is possible. [48]
A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. [1] [2] Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying disease processes such as diabetes mellitus, venous/arterial insufficiency, or immunologic disease. [3]
Chronic ulcer symptoms usually include increasing pain, friable granulation tissue, foul odour, and wound breakdown instead of healing. [3] Symptoms tend to worsen once the wound has become infected. Venous skin ulcers that may appear on the lower leg, above the calf or on the lower ankle usually cause achy and swollen legs.
The abrasion should be cleaned and any debris removed. A topical antibiotic (such as neomycin or bacitracin) should be applied to prevent infection and to keep the wound moist. [3] Dressing the wound is beneficial because it helps keep the wound from drying out, providing a moist environment conducive for healing. [4]
Some troops leave the battlefield injured. Others return from war with mental wounds. Yet many of the 2 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from a condition the Defense Department refuses to acknowledge: Moral injury.
A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, [3] the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues.