Wounds Talking Now

Let me please introduce myself.   I am no friend of yours; in fact I am a real pain.  It is not my wish to harm you; I’m just a result of chance.  I am your foot ulcer.

I know you and your healthcare providers are working hard to get rid of me and I am ok with that.  We all have a natural life span and I have been around far too long.  I am ready to move on, so I want to help you to help me heal.  I do okay until it is time to remove the dressing over me.  I hate dressing changes. It is very disrupting to me during removal and it must cause you a lot pain.  I feel better after it is done but what a drag!

I have some ideas on this.  Try these ways to make it less painful.  They’re easy to do!  First, I suggest that you wash your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds, dry them fully and put on clean gloves if you have them.    Second, about this time I tend to be a little dry and the dressing clings to me, so the thing I like best is when you dampen the dressing with normal saline. Your nurse or doctor can help you get this or tell you how to make it.   This should loosen the top dressing from my wound bed and decrease the pain when removing.  It is best to work slowly so that you do not harm my sensitive edges while taking off the tape.  Some say that it is best to clear the lip of the saline bottle of germs by spilling a little out before applying to the dressing.

Third, loosen the edges of the tape by applying pressure to the skin next to the tape with one hand and gently pulling the tape towards the wound – not up towards the ceiling like most people do – with the other hand.  Feel free to add more saline as needed.  By applying pressure with the one hand you are pulling the skin taut to help remove the tape from the skin.  Work your way carefully on all sides of the dressing until the tape is loose.   When free, lift the dressing and the tape together.  Put them in a plastic bag, close the bag tightly, and throw all of them away at once.    This will keep your work zone free of germs.

Skin Tear

Please follow your health care provider’s orders to clean and replace the dressing. But be sure to wash your hands again and put on clean gloves when working with the new dressings so that you do not bring germs back into the wound.  Taking these steps will help make you feel better and help me to go away peacefully.