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CARING FOR WOUNDS - THE RIGHT WAY
Battling misconceptions and when and if Antibiotics are necessary

There have been many misconceptions and wives tales when it comes to how to properly care for a wound. One of the more dangerous is spreading butter or other grease on a burn to relieve the pain. In reality, any type of grease can cause more harm by trapping heat, suffocating the tissue and trapping any harmful bacteria against the burn. Another is pouring alcohol or peroxide directly into an open wound to cleanse it. Again, this practice causes further destruction of the tissue, and delays the healing process.

To begin with, assess the wound. What type of wound is it? A puncture wound? A slice caused by a sharp object such as a knife or outdoor equipment? Is it a jagged, irregular wound such as a chainsaw injury, where a lot of debris is in the wound? A scraped knee with gravel embedded?

All wounds are a break in the integrity of the skin, the largest organ in your body. It is the first line of defense between you and the outside world. Once that defense has been breached, how you care for it will determine the outcome of the healing process.

When Do I Seek Further Help? The following are reasons you should see your medical provider:

• Wound has jagged edges
• Wound is more than is a quarter inch deep, or you can see fat, muscle, bone or any other deeper structures 
  
• The edges of the wound are very far apart and stay wide open and cannot be brought closer together with the use of a normal bandage
• The wound has dirt or debris that will not come out with irrigation

We break down the steps for wound care and proper antibiotic usage on our recent blog post. 

In the News:

2/7/23 TIME: US Navy Recovered Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon:  The military shot down the balloon Saturday with a missile fired from an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet. The Pentagon waited several days before shooting it down to avoid possibly injuring people on the ground with falling debris. Read the full article here.

2/8/23 CIDRAP: Downed Spy Balloon May Muddy US-China Medical Supply Chains: From upending the US Food and Drug Administration's [FDA's] regulatory inspections in China … to lucrative cross-border funding and deal-making, the incident shows there is still a long way for Washington and Beijing to return to the table. Read the full article here.

2/13/23 FOX Carolina: Investigation underway after train derailment in Enoree: First responders said the train cars came off the tracks, but officials have since cleared the scene that happened near Highway 221 Read the full article here.

2/14/23 CNN: Texas Train Derailment Occurs Just Days After Ohio Disaster: The Splendora Police Department said access to the nearby town of Midline remained cut off because of the crash. 

The exact circumstances of the crash have yet to be determined.  Read the full article here. 

2/16/23 CNN: Toxic Ohio Train Wreck:  An odor of chlorine has lingered long after the February 3 derailment that prompted crews to manage detonations to release vinyl chloride, which can kill quickly at high levels and increase cancer risk. And although an evacuation order was lifted last week, some residents are staying elsewhere amid fears the water, air, soil and surfaces in the village of 5,000 still are not safe. Read the full article here. 

More Education:

SEPSIS: Signs, risk factors and preventative steps outlined in our most recent post. Read the full article here.

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