Injuries are unexpected – they can happen anywhere at any time. Whether it is a child playing in the backyard, an elderly pedestrian crossing the road, or you cooking your meals, all are prone to minor or major injuries, and thus, having a wound dressing kit at home prepares you for such instances.

In case of an injury, experts suggest aero wound dressing to control bleeding and prevent infections in all kinds of wounds. It’s highly absorbent and low adherent, which means it’s efficient and ideal to minimise the pain associated with the change of dressings. 

However, sometimes even after doing aero wound dressing, it is a hassle to differentiate between a healed and an infected wound. To ensure a successful healing process, continue reading this article to understand better the difference between an infected and a healed wound.

Healing Vs Infected Wound: What Signs Should I Look Out For?

The healing process of a wound is confusing because the signs of an infected wound are similar to those of a healing wound. If you struggle to heal your injury, here are signs you can look out for after the first five days.

Signs and Stages of a Healing Wound

• Scabbing: You’ll notice the formation of a dried crusty surface, the first sign that the wound is healing.
• Tissue Growth: Post scabbing, the major indicator of a healing wound is the growth of healthy granular tissues, mostly pale pink in colour.
• Scarring: At this point, you’ll notice a fresh, red-coloured scar. In most cases, the scar will fade away gradually.

Signs of an Infected Wound

Increased Swelling and Redness

Redness and swelling indicate that blood in your body flows to the injured area to provide essential nutrients. If swelling and redness persist after the first five days of injury, you may be required to see your doctor because the wound can be infected.

Discharge

An infected wound produces a yellowish discharge with a bad smell, swelling, and discolouration. If you see these signs, you should do an aero wound dressing or see a trained professional to do it for you.

Excessive Pain

For obvious reasons, an injury is painful, depending on the type of injury. If you notice unusual or increased pain, it means your wound has been infected.

Warmth 

During your first stages of healing, it’s normal to develop warmth around the wound. The warmth occurs because your white blood cells fight germs and infections. 

However, if the warmth persists after the first 5 days, it indicates that your wound has been infected, and you should use your wound dressing kit to clean it.

Fever

Usually, when one is injured, the infection gets to the bloodstream and spreads through the body, causing low-grade fever. If your wound is infected, you will experience a high-grade fever that causes more discomfort to you.

Why is My Wound Not Healing?

Even though our bodies can naturally heal injuries and mend bones, extra care has to be done to speed up the healing process. Wounds require additional care, and getting a wound dressing kit will help you fight barriers to wound healing. These barriers include:

• Bacterial infections
• Dead skin and foreign materials
• Dryness

Other barriers include:

• Age 
• Medicine
• Medical conditions like diabetes 

Tips to Aero Dress Your Wound at Home

Having a wound means that more care should be taken to avoid severe infections. Most people have their aero wound dressing done in a clinic, but one can also do them at home if they have the following:

• Hand Sanitizers

This is the first step to do when wound dressing an injury. Your hands must be cleaned and sanitised to eliminate germs or bacteria in your hands.

• Disposable Gloves

You can never go wrong with nitrile gloves during your aero wound dressing. These gloves are highly protective and prevent the passing of harmful agents from your hands to your wound.

• Non-Alcoholic Disinfecting Wipes

Even though alcohol is used to disinfect wounds, it is hazardous to use on open wounds as it can burn cells and damage healthy tissues. To avoid this, you can use non-alcoholic wipes to clean your wound.

• Saline Solution

This is yet another crucial thing for your wound dressing kit to help rinse the blood off the wound. The solution is also used to remove dirt and debris. An alternative option for the saline solution is clean running water.

• Cotton Pad

The highly absorbent pad is soaked in clean water or saline solution and later used to clean a wound in smaller areas. You can never miss having a cotton pad in your wound dressing kit. 

• Tweezers

Tweezers pick and remove debris and small tissues without triggering the surrounding tissue. It is essential to note that this wound dressing kit tool can only be inserted in a wound if a trained professional does it.

• Clinical Disposable Bags

All the used material from the wound dressing kit should be thrown away after doing aero wound dressing. This ensures that the people close to you are free from infectious waste material.

If you want to know if your wound is infected, observe the wound after the first 5 days and use your wound dressing kit if the first signs of healing persist. Also, consult with your GP if you find it difficult to analyse if the wound is healing or infected. In case of an infected wound, they can suggest a course of antibiotics and surgery in some cases to encourage the healing process.