Wondering how to heal wounds faster? There are a number of steps you can take. Research proves that wounds heal faster when patients stay involved in their care and follow their doctor’s advice. The most important way to help your wound heal is by keeping every scheduled appointment. However, you also need to follow good wound care practices at home.
Tips for Taking Care of Wounds Between Appointments
- Nutrition is an important part of wound healing - eat a well-balanced diet, following any dietary or fluid restrictions your doctor has recommended
- Stop smoking - get help with 5 Steps to Quit Smoking from the American Heart Association
- Keep pressure off your wound
- If you are diabetic, monitor your blood sugars because wound healing stops when blood sugars are over 200
- If the provider instructed you to change your dressing in between visits, examine your wound with each dressing change - be sure to wash your hands before and after each dressing change
- Keep your dressing clean and dry
- Notify your healthcare provider immediately if you notice a problem or have a concern with your dressing
Signs Your Wound Needs Immediate Medical Care
It is important to closely monitor your wound and call your doctor right away if you experience:
- Increased pain at the wound site
- Excess drainage that wets the dressing before time to change
- Redness and swelling around or spreading away from wound
- Foul odor coming from wound
- Changes in color of wound or drainage
- Nausea or vomiting
- Chills or fever
If you are living with a non-healing wound, request an appointment here: https://www.healogics.com/appointment-request/
Healogics provides world class wound care to help wounds heal faster at more than 600 Wound Care Centers® nationwide. Over the past 20 years, we have helped to heal more than four million wounds. We have partnerships with academic and research-based scientists to consult and analyze, driving collaboration to provide better outcomes for our patients.
