Post-Trauma Wounds

Post-Trauma Wounds

Post-trauma wounds are any wounds of the skin and tissue that result from an accident, fall, blunt trauma, laceration, crush injury, burn injury, or some other cause. Traumatic wounds can either heal on their own or they can become chronic wounds that need specialized treatment. Advanced wound care can not only encourage healing, but also decrease a wound’s likelihood of becoming infected and encourage damaged tissue to heal.

What Are Post-Trauma Wounds?

Post-trauma wounds can occur after skin, soft tissue, muscles, or other parts of the body are injured. Traumatic wounds can range from mild skin abrasions to large wounds that extend to deeper layers of tissue.

Often, traumatic wounds will heal with time. If the wound is too deep, an underlying condition impairs healing, infection is present or circulation to the area is poor, a wound can develop into a chronic wound.

What Factors Can Delay Healing After Trauma?

Trauma wounds happen suddenly, but sometimes the body can’t heal as quickly as it should. There are many factors that can prevent a wound from healing, and when they do, slow down the healing process, wounds can become open for weeks or months.

Some of the most common causes of slow wound healing include:

• Significant tissue trauma
• Poor circulation
• Diabetes
• Infection
• Older age
• Smoking
• Poor nutrition
• Other medical conditions
• Trauma to the affected area

Treating these factors can be part of your wound care treatment.

What Injuries Can Cause Chronic Traumatic Wounds?

Many injuries can lead to wounds that need advanced wound care. These include, but are not limited to:

• Cuts/Lacerations
• Skin tears
• Crush injuries
• Surgical trauma
• Burns
• Scrapes/Abrasions
• Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Injuries
• Falls
• Workplace Injuries

Typically, the larger the wound and the more damage to surrounding tissue, the greater the chance that your wound will heal slowly. Patients with certain medical conditions may also be more susceptible to developing chronic wounds.

What Are Signs That a Traumatic Wound Is Not Healing?

As your traumatic wound heals, you should see obvious signs of improvement. If your condition does not improve or becomes worse, you may need advanced care.

Symptoms you should watch out for include:

• Redness
• Swelling
• Pain that worsens
• Drainage/pus
• Bad odor coming from the wound
• Enlargement of the wound
• Slow healing wound
• Changes in skin color around wound
• Fever or other signs of infection

Seek medical attention if your wound’s condition suddenly changes.

How Can Post-Trauma Wounds Be Treated?

Here at SMC Physicians in Northfield, our doctors will create a treatment plan based on your injury, wound type, and specific needs. Every treatment plan is different, but we focus on what will provide the best environment for your wound to heal and prevent further issues.

Post-Trauma wound treatment may include:

• Advanced wound dressings
• Debridement
• Infection control
• Advanced wound healing therapy
• Compression therapy (when indicated)
• Wound monitoring
• Education and prevention

Don’t let an injury delay your recovery. We can help your wounds heal.

How Can Advanced Wound Care Help Heal Post-Trauma Wounds?

Sometimes wounds sustained as a result of trauma need advanced wound care to heal. Traumatic wounds can be associated with underlying damage to tissues, swelling/inflammation, and/or infection. When the body cannot heal itself from these types of wounds using traditional wound care techniques, advanced wound care may help.

Advanced wound care can work to eliminate what’s preventing the wound from healing and promote ideal conditions for healing to occur. SMC Physicians’ wound care experts work with you to develop a customized treatment plan that may include advanced wound dressings, debridement, infection control, as well as the latest advances in wound healing.

Why You Should Seek Wound Care Early After Trauma Occurs

The earlier you seek treatment for your injury, the better. Early treatment for wounds can help decrease your chance of infection and further damage to the affected area.

Diabetic and circulatory patients should be even more attentive to wounds that don’t seem to be healing.

Contact us to request an appointment or call directly at (609) 377-5150 to learn more about post-trauma wounds and how our wound care specialists can help.

1601 Tilton Rd, Suite 3, Northfield, NJ 08225

Hours:
Monday: 8:30am-5pm
Tuesday: 8:30am-5pm
Wednesday: 8:30am-5pm
Thursday: 8:30am-5pm
Friday: 8:30am-5pm