Wounds & Injuries

Epsom salt has been used medicinally for hundreds of years. The salts come from a material in the earth called dolomite, which is rich in magnesium sulfate. The compound came by the name of Epsom...

Doctors (and everyday folks) have used sugar and honey throughout history to treat cuts, burns and other wounds. Honey has long been touted for its bacteria-killing properties, while ancient...

Honey has been used throughout history to treat wounds and burns, but only in recent years have scientists conducted studies on using honey for healing only. According to Peter Charles Molan,...

Treating wounds is not as difficult as it may seem, and it does not necessarily require special training. However, some wounds do require evaluation and treatment by a qualified medical...

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...

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) refers to using pressurized pure oxygen to treat conditions such as wounds that won't heal in patients with diabetes or radiation injury.

A minor wound can be defined as either a laceration, abrasion, or blister, and frequently can be comfortably managed at home without requiring a visit to a doctor. Minor wounds are common in...

People who swim in the ocean sometimes come in contact with coral and get coral scrapes or wounds. There are some techniques for treating coral wounds which may save you a trip to the hospital....

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...

Bedsores are most often seen in patients who are handicapped, paralyzed, bedridden or disabled. This condition occurs when there is continued pressure on a certain part of the body because a...

A break in the skin is considered a wound. Wounds are often no more than cuts and scrapes, but the proper treatment of a wound depends on an accurate analysis.

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...

Infected wounds can be trouble if not taken care of properly. Continuous inflammation can cause cellulitis, gangrene or even death. That's why it's important to know the signs of infection and...

Odor emanating from a wound is caused by tissue death and the decay of that tissue. Decay of tissue causes compounds such as cadaverine, putrecine, and sulphorous compounds to be released.

Mechanical cleansing, also known as mechanical debridement, is one of the oldest and simplest forms of wound care techniques still used to treat pressure ulcers (bedsores), burns and surgical...

An open wound is an external cut that differs from a closed wound, like a bruise, where the skin is unbroken. There are five general types of open wounds. Open and closed wounds are both health...

Wounds are debrided to speed up the healing process. Burns, pressure ulcers and other types of wounds are debrided to remove dead and decaying tissue. These tissues can harbor bacteria, which can...

Light or LED (light-emitting diode) therapy for body healing got its start accidentally in the 1960s when Russians and Czechs attempted to standardize colors by isolating them for use in color...

The main difference between a closed wound and open wound is that in a closed wound, the skin is not broken open and remains intact. There is less of a chance that a closed wound will become infected.

Open wounds occur when the upper skin layer has been damaged. The damage may show a cut, puncture or tear and the wound may become infected. Some open wound infections may require emergency...

Whether because of a condition that affects circulation (such as diabetes) or another skin condition, sometimes wounds will not heal without medical intervention. One of the manners in which...

Puncture wounds can result from numerous events from stepping on a sharp object such a a nail to the bite of an animal. Many times puncture wounds appear to close up by themselves without much...

You're riding your bike down the sidewalk when suddenly a stick jumps in your way and makes you crash. You feel that stinging pain on your knee, and within a few minutes, you see blood trickling...

Wound dressings need to be changed frequently to promote healing and prevent infection. This can be painful, but is an extremely important part of the healing process. Depending on the location of...

Laser therapy has healed many patients' wounds without invasive surgery. The lasers' pulses of light help increase blood flow, making this a popular form of healing. Many medical specialists use...

You can treat most minor wounds yourself. Keeping a wound clean and applying an antibiotic ointment will help it heal quickly and without problems.

A wound, in the most literal terms, is defined as an injury to the body. However, the word can apply to other situations besides bodily harm.

Slow-healing wounds can bring immense pain, infection and, if part of a limb is affected, increased risk of amputation. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, used at institutions worldwide, is a treatment...

With the popularity of natural living and the advancement of alternative therapies to treat illness and disease, many people have turned to natural sources such as honey for wound care. Unlike...

Debridement is the removal of waste (exudate), infectious matter and dead tissue from wounds. Debridement may be done to prepare a wound for the application of specialty healing aids or simply to...

Topical oxygen therapy (aka topical hyperbaric oxygen therapy, THOT or topox) is a form of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for wound treatment in which part of the person's body is encased in a...

Tegaderm dressings are commonly used in health care to protect wounds and intravenous puncture sites. They're easy to remove in five simple steps without damaging the skin.

In hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the patient breathes pure oxygen while in a sealed chamber with increased atmospheric pressure. The therapy is well known for its effectiveness in treating the...

More often than not, unwrapping a bandage involves painfully removing copious amounts of body hair as well. Even worse, a gauze bandage could stick and disrupt the healing process of the wound....

Cleaning wounds prevents infection. While dirt and grit will irritate the wound, they also carry a much greater risk of infection from the bacteria that they contain. For any newly formed wound,...

Puncture wounds are injuries that occur when a sharp object is able to penetrate the skin. Common puncture wounds occur when people inadvertently step on nails or are bitten by a dog or a cat....

When a cut or wound occurs, it's really important to wash and disinfect the wound properly in order to avoid infection and scarring from the injury. Proper wound dressing technique is also...

There are various types of chest wounds that can be caused by many factors. Car accidents can cause blunt chest wounds. Penetrating chest wounds may be caused by a stabbing or gunshot. Regardless...

Unless a wound is very recent, you should assume that untreated wounds are likely infected or may become infected. Typical signs of infection include swelling, pain, fever, and the presence of...

It is helpful to know how to apply dressings to a wounded leg when you, or someone else, gets injured or burned. Perhaps you know someone who has diabetes and you may have to assist him with his...

"Head injury" or "head wound" is a collective term that refers to any type of trauma to the parts of the head caused by a foreign or extrinsic agent. There are many types of head wounds. A closed...

Puncture wounds are often sustained by long sharp objects protruding from the ground or out of a wall. These puncture wounds are often caused by rusty nails or sharp pieces of wood or other metal....

It is important to properly care for minor cuts and wounds to reduce the risks of infection and decrease scar tissue formation. Here are some important steps to follow for proper minor wound care.

Every year, thousands of surgeries are performed in the U.S. They range from broken bones, bariatric procedures, abdominoplasty, etc. Many of these surgical wounds are deep, affect multiple...

Knife wounds usually appear on the upper body, neck, arms and head. The injuries can be superficial, slicing or deep and penetrating or cause internal damage that isn't immediately obvious. It's...

Wounds, when dealt with by a professional, are often easy to take care of and heal well. However, there are times when even the simplest wounds carry the risk of infection. Whether they were not...

Puncture wounds can be caused by stepping on a nail or catching skin with a staple. They rarely ever bleed very much, which can make many people think that they will heal on their own. In reality,...

Sometimes you fall and scrape your knee, other times you bang your head or worse. No matter the severity of the initial injury, however, there are times when you need to recognize the need to seek...