Many times surgical wounds require more time to heal than our expectation. It is due to the infection caused by bacteria or virus on the wound which delays the healing of wound. Wound infection may also occur when our body’s immunity get tampered for some reasons. Surgical wound infection is common and almost 7 out of 10 patients die during post-operative stage because of wound infection.
Causes :
Wound infection is caused primarily by micro-organisms like bacteria. They invade the wound originating from your skin or other parts of the body. Our body contains good bacteria that are harmless due to the protective skin layer that prevents the entry of bacteria. However when the skin is injured during surgery or wound it gives room for the bacteria to invade the inner organs. The formation of wound increases the chance of removal of protective barrier from the skin thus facilitating bacterial infection.
Bacteria would then colonize the injured area slowly causing more damage to the tissues causing inflammation. Bacteria belonging to the group of Staphylococcus commonly cause wound infection.
In some cases, contamination of surgical wounds and improper care of wound dressing may cause wound infection.
Symptoms :
Wound infection is characterized by redness, pain, swelling or inflammation, and pus like discharge from the wound. It delays the normal healing process thus widening the time of healing. For some people there will be bad odor due to pus discharge from the wound area.
Diagnoses :
Your doctor will look for the signs of infection. He may order for routine blood tests, imaging tests like CT scan or MRI. In severe cases, biopsy of the wound is taken for diagnosing the infection precisely.
Who are at risk ?
Old aged people, diabetic people and persons with immune deficiency are prone to wound infection. Non healing wound can cause increased pain due to inflammation and redness. Further it can affect the neighboring tissues forming chronic bacterial infection.
Pictures of Wound Infection :
Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Wound Infection
Treatment :
Whenever there is a wound you need to take proper care till it is completely healed. Wound will not heal properly if the environment is moist. Hence you need to change the dressings daily and keep the wound well protected from moist and infection causing sites. Wash the hands thoroughly before and after dressing the wounds for preventing further infection.
Treatment of wound infection depends on the site of injury and intensity of damage caused to the tissues. Soap water can be gently used for cleaning the wound. Your doctor may use sterilized water for cleaning it and removing the dirt particles and dead tissues inside. He would then place wet bandage on the site of injury to allow it to dry.
Antibiotics are given to manage the infection. You can also take NSAID drugs for controlling swelling and pain. Do not discontinue taking antibiotics which can certainly increase the risk of getting wound infection. You need to follow the instructions of your doctor for completing the course of antibiotics either orally or topical creams.
The wound infection can take more time for healing if the patient is diabetic or suffering from any immune disorder. Presence of any dead tissues inside the wound will squarely increase the risk of wound infection. Repeated injury or trauma on the same site will delay the healing process.