Chronic Wounds
A chronic wound is any wound that has failed to progress through normal healing stages and remains open for more than 4 weeks, or that heals and repeatedly breaks down. These wounds become "stuck" in the inflammatory phase of healing, unable to advance to tissue repair and closure. Chronic wounds can persist for months or even years, causing pain, limiting function, and significantly impacting quality of life.
At Best Wound Care, we specialize in identifying why wounds become chronic and implementing strategies to restart the healing process. Our Nurse Practitioners understand that chronic wounds are never "just slow healers"—there are always underlying factors preventing healing that must be identified and addressed. Successfully treating chronic wounds requires detective work to uncover barriers and comprehensive interventions to overcome them.
Why Chronic Wounds Need Specialized Care
Chronic wounds present challenges that extend far beyond basic wound care:
Chronic wounds rarely have a single cause. Most result from combinations of problems: poor circulation plus diabetes plus malnutrition plus biofilm. All factors must be addressed simultaneously for healing to occur.
Other Contributing Factors
Standard Care Has Already Failed
By definition, chronic wounds haven't responded to routine wound care. Continuing the same approaches yields the same results: no healing.
Increasing Complications
The longer wounds remain open, the greater the risks of deep infection, osteomyelitis (bone infection), malignant transformation, and systemic complications.
High Healthcare Costs
Chronic wounds consume enormous healthcare resources through repeated hospitalizations, endless supplies, lost work productivity, and treatment of complications.
Needs Systematic Approach
Chronic wounds rarely have a single cause. Most result from combinations of problems: poor circulation, diabetes, malnutrition, etc. All factors must be addressed simultaneously for healing to occur.
Signs You Have A Chronic Wound
These signs indicate a wound has become chronic and requires specialized intervention:
Wounds open for 4 weeks or longer despite appropriate basic care
No reduction in wound size over 2-4 weeks of treatment
Wounds that heal and repeatedly break down in the same location
Heavy, continuous drainage that doesn't decrease over time
Foul odor
Callused, rolled, or thickened wound edges
Patient experiencing chronic pain from non-healing wounds
Wounds affecting patient's ability to function, work, or maintain independence
Any wound that remains open beyond 4 weeks warrants evaluation for factors preventing healing and implementation of advanced treatment strategies.
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