Wound Care for an Infection: Cut Infection Treatment

When people are young, they feel invisible to sickness, pain, broken bones, and wounds. While it’s true that with an increase in age, a person has a higher risk of a chronic wound, younger people are still vulnerable to an infected wound due to a lack of professional treatment.

Wounds infections are categorized as:

• Superficial incisional SSI (a wound that only involves the skin).
• Deep incisional SSI (a wound involving muscle, facial, or other deep tissues).
• Organ SSI ( a wound involving an organ).

The wound could be caused by an animal, a plant, a weapon (like a knife or gun), or anything that could cut or pierce the skin. A wound becomes infected when bacteria or fungi enter it. Often, we see patients come in with infected wounds after they’ve failed to care for them and clean them properly.

Wound infections can spiral out of control quickly if you’re not quick to receive medical help. If you have a wound, ensure it is checked by professionals like the one we have at Carolina Regional Orthopedics. It’s especially imperative to have your wound checked if you’re older. Don’t delay. Contact Carolina Regional Orthopedics for wound infection treatment. If you are too weak to stand or are experiencing life-threatening symptoms, dial 911 and contact the police.

How do you know if a wound is infected or healing?

Determining if your wound is infected is the first step in healing your wound. One of the classic signs of infections is continuous discharge. Once you’re wounded, the site discharges blood and pus, then it becomes clear. Usually, a scab will form, thus preventing discharge from leaking out and pathogens from getting in, causing infection. If a scab forms, but you would still leak discharge, and it begins to smell, that’s a sign that your wound may be infected

Another sign your wound may be infected is if you notice swelling or discoloration or if the wound is warm to the touch. Wound discoloration can range from yellow to greenish and cloudy. Initial swelling and redness are normal as your body protects itself from infection and rushes to close the wound. Still, if it continues to be discolored, warm, and swollen, you need to come into Carolina Regional Orthopedics for wound infection treatment.

Areas Prone To Infection

Infections can arise in any wound anywhere. They’re common in the lower extremities and hands. Areas that sweat a lot, like the lower extremities, are also prone to infection. All wound infections are harmful, but joint wounds are bad because they can immobilize a limb for life. So be extremely careful if you become wounded in any of those areas.

Infected Cuts

During surgeries, an incision or incisions are made to access parts of the body. Depending on the incision size, your cut or wound may be stapled to stop it from opening and help it heal. Sometimes these cuts become infected, turning them into an infected wound. Infected cuts are difficult to heal and are likely to lead to a life-threatening situation if orthopedic doctors don’t handle them with years of experience. Whether you receive an infected cut in surgery or elsewhere, please take it seriously and contact us for help!

What is the best treatment for an infected wound?

When you look up “the best care for an infected wound,” there’s a chance that you’ll encounter home remedies by using over-the-counter medications and antibiotics. While the first instinct may be to try and care for your infected cut or infected wound yourself to avoid medical fees, we advise against that idea. It risks your life, creating a higher chance for the infected wound to progress. It might save money in the short term, but when it gets worse, you’ll be paying more because you didn’t get proper care of your infected cut immediately.

The best treatment for an infected wound can only be provided by medical professionals like the team at Carolina Regional Orthopedics. Contact us if you have a wound infection!

How to prevent wound infections

The best way to treat infected wounds is not to get your wound infected. Prevention is always the best medicine. You can prevent wound infection by cleaning your wound right after it opens. Wash it out with soap and water. After that, apply an antibiotic ointment. Once it’s clean, cover the wound with a breathable bandage. You’ll want to repeat this process daily, cleaning the wound, applying antibiotic ointment, and wrapping it with a new bandage.

Don’t Let Your Infected Wound Worsen

The orthopedic wound care team at Carolina Regional Orthopedics has years of experience helping people heal from wound infections. Join our list of people that we’ve helped.

Call us today at 252-443-0400 or reach out online for wound care!