Everything You Need To Know About Traumatic Wounds
What Are Traumatic Wounds?
Traumatic wounds (or extensive wounds) are usually defined (in layman terms) as cuts, lacerations, or puncture wounds leading to damage to both the skin and underlying tissues. If they are not treated timely, it can cause severe damage to the soft tissues in the skin. Traumatic wounds are a type of sudden or unplanned injury that can occur post accidents or due to any violence. These wounds comprise abrasions, lacerations, skin tears, bites, burns, and penetrating trauma wounds, etc. while the acute, cut, and penetrating wounds are the three categories of traumatic wounds.
- Acute wounds happen when there is a breakage in the skin or a jagged look. It usually comprises foreign bodies like gravel, glass, metal or sand, etc. In the scenario of acute traumatic wounds, the layers of tissues are easily visible along the inside of the cut.
- A traumatic cut wound happens when a piercing sharp object penetrates the skin and underlying subcutaneous tissues as well.
- Penetrating traumatic wounds on the other hand refers to the deepest and most severe wounds in all traumatic wounds. They are usually the result of being stabbed etc.
Traumatic wounds can occur due to a range of distinct circumstances like environmental factors, road accidents/mishaps, any sort of thermal or chemical exposure, and animal bites, etc. Successful traumatic wound care treatment needs an early diagnosis as well as assessment of the patient comprising the application of temporary dressings, intravenous fluid therapy, oxygen and antibiotics, and many more.
Symptoms Of Traumatic Wounds
Traumatic wounds refers to injuries to the skin and its underlying tissues, muscles, and bone structures. In simple terms, It can be defined as a medical condition where the skin has deep cuts. Here are the manifestations of traumatic wounds:
- Swelling around the injury
- Redness
- Bleeding
- Possibility of fever with infection
- Leakage from the wound etc.
If the patient is noticing any of these manifestations, he / she must immediately seek traumatic wound care by doctors and medical specialists. Traumatic wounds need to be treated with early effects as the symptoms are recognized otherwise, it can lead to more severe chronic, non-healing wounds.
Causes
A multitude of reasons can cause traumatic wounds. Here they are as follows:
- Any sort of cuts/incisions caused by knives. These types of cut wounds are usually clean-edged.
- Abrasions due to scraping of the skin generally comprise few types of debris like: gravel, sand, metal or glass, etc.
- Trauma due to accidental force like road accidents/mishaps where the body parts are extremely injured, and the skin experiences a variety of lacerations and cut wounds.
- Gunshot wounds can lead to both entry as well as exit wounds.
- Severe/serious animal bites causing penetrated skin and underlying tissues.
- Punctures etc.
Risks
Some of the most predominant risks in traumatic wounds comprise:
- Infection
- Gangrene
- Bulging scar tissues around the wound
- Poor/weak immunity
- Sudden loss/shedding of weight
- Inflammation etc.
Diagnosis Of Traumatic Wounds
It is an extensive injury both in the skin and the underlying soft tissues. To diagnose, the team of qualified & trained health professionals – nurses, doctors, and physicians can visit the location of the patient (or patient can reach out to a medical facility nearby). They will thoroughly examine the condition of the wound and verify its severity through previous medical records. The patients can also be told for imaging and specialist tests to determine the suitable treatment for effective, safe, and proper healing of traumatic wounds.
Treatment
As the traumatic wounds are severe and they involve a myriad of etiologies, the treatment can comprise simple cleaning & dressing the wound or it can be more extensive and may need proper surgery to treat the wound by stitching it. The wound will be surgically cleaned to enable natural healing. Traumatic wound management comprises repairing damage to the underlying tissues of the skin, removing any foreign particles, and drainage the wounds. These all steps of treatment are crucial to prevent infection and enhance healing.
Here are the treatment choices for traumatic wounds:
Laceration
When there is a deep cut in the skin, the wound care treatment comprises cleansing the wound with a sterile solution. This is performed to extract debris from the wound. Post that, an antibiotic gel is applied to the wound to prevent infection, followed by a sterile dressing to keep the wound moisturized, clean, and shielded.
Penetration Wound
If the patient has penetrated the wound and requires a surgical repair, then surgery is performed under general anesthesia. The surgeons perform a surgical cut to remove the debris of the injury. During the surgery, the vital signs of the patients are monitored throughout the procedure. Then, the wound is closed with stitches and a surgical bandage is applied to shield the wound.
Abrasions
When there are scratches or wearing of the skin post an injury occurs, it gets cleaned with the sterilized gauze pad soaked with saline to extract debris from the wounds. In majority cases of traumatic wounds, the patients are treated with a tetanus shot to decrease the probability of tetanus infection. ‘
Prevention Of Traumatic Wounds
These are the preventive measures that should be taken to prevent extensive wounds:
- The patients are suggested to wear/put on well-fitted & comfortable shoes to avoid exposure to hazardous objects/entities.
- Be extra careful/judicious when utilising any piercing sharp objects, for instance, knives and scissors etc.
- Ensure safety with gloves and eyewear while doing related tasks/chores.
Deep cut or infected wounds require immediate/prompt medical attention. If an individual wants to ensure effective, rapid, and proper wound healing, they should seek Wound care Specialists.
