Wounds & Injuries

Many wounds are minor and do not require medical treatment. Look for warning signs such as deepness, infections or uncontrollable bleeding. Medical care is usually needed if dirt stays in the...

Open wounds can be vulnerable to infections, which can quickly spread and lead to serious illness if left untreated. There are a number of ways to care for your open wound, including epsom salt...

Some wounds require a tightly wrapped bandage. If the wound is deep and heavy bleeding is taking place, then you need to wrap the wound tightly to prevent blood loss. A wound is considered to be...

Ingrown toenails occur when the toenail grows into the skin on the edges of the nail. This condition can be extremely painful, can cause swelling and redness and is generally caused by shoes that...

The debate continues between whether it is more beneficial to let a wound air-dry than heal through bandaging. Keeping wounds bandaged is believed to offer faster healing by protecting wounds from...

An anesthetic digital block is used to numb an entire finger or toe. The injection is given at the base of the digit on either side to prevent the transmission of pain signals. Anesthetic digital...

When treating a wound it is necessary to use extreme caution, particularly if the wound is draining. Properly covering the wound and caring for it is vital to keep the area from getting infected....

If you have had the misfortune to break your ankle badly enough to require surgery, you probably want to speed your recovery as much as possible. Beyond the actual bone break, your ankle has...

Blood thinners are often prescribed to reduce the risk of stroke, arterial blockages and heart attacks or to prevent blood clots from forming or thickening. Nose bleeds are a common occurrence...

The rotator cuff consists of four muscles, some tendons and ligaments and is located in the shoulder. It controls the mobility of the shoulder joint and is often injured in association with...

The Achilles tendon is the strongest and thickest tendon in the body and connects the calf muscles to the heel. It is most commonly ruptured in middle-aged men in poor shape who play tennis or any...

If you stand too long or have a genetic predisposition for varicose veins, you may notice ugly blueish/purplish veins that pop out in your leg. This is due to the failure of veinous valves...

A wound's depth is defined as the distance from the skin's surface to the bottom of the wound. Initially, measurements of a wound's depth can be used as a means of evaluating the severity of the...

Our pets are often just as important parts of our family as the human variety. Our beloved dogs are our companions through thick and thin, but they are also prone to getting cuts, scrapes and...

Whether wounds are minor or more serious, it is always important to stop the bleeding and treat the wound. You should seek medical attention if a wound is deep and the blood flow is heavy. You can...

Because the scalp has many blood vessels close to the surface of the skin, a minor cut can take the appearance of a major wound. Being able to distinguish a wound that can be treated at home and a...

I starting getting nose bleeds about two years ago. My nose would bleed for about one hour or less. However, the other afternoon I felt that familiar slight drip from my right nostril, I went...

Dressing a wound requires some understanding of the most common types of dressings and how they work. While you don't need to rush to the hospital every time you experience a skin tear, cut or...

Lung cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer, according to the American Lung Association. However, it is the number one cause of cancer death. People with lung cancer deal with many...

A walking cast is a special kind of leg cast designed to allow the wearer to walk normally while the cast takes the pressure and protects the injured area. While walking casts are often permanent...

Tongue wounds are often caused when blows are received to the chin. The teeth bite the tongue and cause cuts and trauma. Due to the vast number of blood vessels present, most tongue wounds heal...

Alternating pain relievers helps reduce possible side effects from one drug taken too frequently. This method also works more effectively to reduce pain.

Pepper spray is an aerosol produced from cayenne peppers used for self-defense. The active ingredient is oleoresin capiscum. When sprayed in the eyes, this spray can cause temporary blindness,...

Skin wounds require careful treatment because they are highly susceptible to infection, which can cause further health complications. During the healing process your wound uses tiny blood vessels...

You can purchase a knee brace at a large retailer like Target, Wal-Mart and Rite Aid. Your physician and local pharmacy may also offer a variety of knee braces. When shopping for a knee brace,...

The unna boot is a bandage that is used to treat ulcerated wounds such as on the legs. It is constructed to include zinc oxide and a gelatin mixed into a paste that is in ways similar to the...

A dislocated knee is a serious injury that requires emergency medical attention. Splinting or wrapping the injured leg properly as part of first aid is important and can be done with a few common...

Any time you break through the barrier of your skin, whether with a small or large wound, take careful measures to prevent infection. Severely infected wounds are dangerous and need to be treated...

It may sound strange and even a little disgusting, but doctors have used maggots to stop the spreading of necrotic flesh in wounds, kill harmful bacteria and even promote the growth of new skin....

Everyone gets a scrape once in a while. Whether you fall down the stairs, trip on a stone or cut yourself by accident, that wound is prone to infection. This is especially true if it's not treated...

Bed sores are also known as pressure sores or pressure ulcers. They occur when part of the body is robbed of adequate circulation, which can result in tissue loss and bone and joint damage if not...

The foot is a compilation of 26 bones, 33 joints and all the accompanying muscles and nerves. Foot pain and foot problems are easily noticed, because we put weight on our feet every day. Many foot...

Rabies is a serious disease that can be spread from an animal to a human through saliva. The virus can be cured in humans if caught in time. However, if the person has begun to show symptoms (such...

The skin is one of the largest organ systems. Skin is composed of two main layers, the outer epidermis and the corium, which lies beneath. When the epidermis is wounded, the process of regrowth of...

Big toes are notorious for developing ingrown toenails. It can happen if you trim your toenails too short or if you taper the corners of the nails. This might make them look pretty, but the...

While patients are in the hospital, nurses and doctors care for their wound dressings. After being released from the hospital, patients need to care for their own wound dressings at home. Without...

Stitches help a deep wound heal. After receiving stitches, a physician or nurse will give you instructions on how to care for your stitched-up wound. This kind of care may depend on whether your...

Knee injuries can be complex or they can be simple. The deal is when you have one you need to know what to do asap. If not, there can be serious consequences. The first 24 hours of the injury are...

More than 37,000 types of spider are recognized worldwide. In North America alone there are about 3,800 species. Spiders are easily distinguished by their eight legs, and most also have eight...

Gadolinium is never found as a free element in nature. This metal has the capacity to absorb neutrons and is hence used in radiography and in nuclear reactors. In addition, Gadolinium exhibits...

There are several factors that could cause rectal bleeding, some more hazardous than others. The most common cause is because of anal hemorrhoids. Some causes of bleeding hemorrhoids are weak...

About a week ago I woke up from a deep sleep with a horrible pain in my right eye. I realized immediately what had happened. My cat had jumped up into a window above my bed and had somehow fallen...

When you encounter someone who has received a severe electrical shock, it is difficult to keep your wits about you. Reading this ahead of time will hopefully give you the information you need to...

An Achilles tendon rupture injury is a truly traumatic event in any athlete or weekend warrior’s life. While you obviously won’t be running for about 4-6 months, that doesn’t mean that you can’t...

There is no definitive way to tell whether an infection is MRSA. The only true way to tell is to have a culture sent to a lab.

Are you annoyed by the throbbing sensation that you are feeling in your foot from your ingrown toe nail? The average person has suffered or will suffer from an ingrown toe nail once in their life...

Skin infections can result from a cut, scrape, insect bite, burn or any other skin wound. Following an injury, many people are left wondering, "How do I know if I have a wound...

Hangnails are not only unsightly but painful as well. As the name makes you believe it is actually a nail, in fact a hangnail is a small, torn piece of skin near a fingernail or toenail and not...

De Quervain's tendinitis is a form of tendinitis that causes wrist pain on the thumb-side of the wrist. It typically develops in people who engage in repeated, strenuous activities that involve...

Staging a pressure ulcer can be quite complicated. There are some simple principles that will make your life easier. There are four standard stages, as well as unstageable and deep tissue injury.