Wound Care

Indications for wound care

A patient with a wound that has not begun to heal in two weeks or is not completely healed in six weeks may benefit from the proven, best-practice methodologies at the Advanced Wound Healing Center. Some indications for wound therapy include:

• Diabetic ulcers
• Neuropathic ulcers
• Pressure ulcers
• Ischemic ulcers
• Venous insufficiency
• Traumatic wounds
• Surgical wounds
• Vasculitis
• Burns
• Peristomal skin irritations
• Other chronic, non-healing wounds

The Advanced Wound Healing Center is a Healogics Center of Distinction.

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Wounds from Diabetes

About half of all people with Diabetes have some sort of nerve damage, most often in the legs or feet. Nerve damage in your feet may cause tingling, numbness or pain, or it may lead to loss of feeling completely. Without being able to feel pain, you may not notice a cut, blister, sore or other problem. Small problems can lead to much more serious conditions, including wounds that will not heal. Nerve damage and poor blood flow from diabetes can put you a risk for developing a foot ulcer, which can lead to infection and even amputation if not treated properly.

Who is at Greater Risk?

Anyone with diabetes could develop nerve damage that could potentially lead to foot wounds in need of medical attention, but there are factors, which can increase your risk, including:

• Having hard-to-manage blood sugar levels
• Having diabetes for a long time
• Being overweight
• Being older than 40 years old
• Having high blood pressure
• Having high cholesterol 

How to Lower the Risk

• Check your feet every day for cuts, redness, swelling, sores, blisters, corns, calluses or any other change to the skin or nail
• Wash your feet every day in warm (not hot) water without soaking them, then dry your feet completely
• Apply lotion to the tops and bottoms of your feet after washing them—but not between your toes, which could lead to infection
• Never go barefoot, even inside, to avoid injury
• Wear shoes that fit well and always wear socks with your shoes
• Trim your toenails straight across and gently smooth any sharp edges with a nail file
• Don’t remove corns or calluses yourself, and especially don’t use over-the-counter products to remove them, which could burn your skin
• Get your feet checked at every health care visit and visit your foot doctor annually (more often if you have nerve damage) for a complete exam, which will include checking for feeling and blood flow in your feet
• Help keep the blood flowing in your feet by putting them up when you are sitting and wiggling your toes for a few minutes several times throughout the day
• Choose feet-friendly activities like walking, riding a bike or swimming

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is one of several advanced treatments offered by the Advanced Wound Healing Center. HBOT helps the body's oxygen-dependent, wound-healing mechanisms function more efficiently. While enclosed in a chamber at greater-than-normal atmospheric pressure, patients breathe pure oxygen, saturating their blood plasma and allowing their body to to carry from 15 to 20 times the normal amount of healing oxygen to the body's tissues, thereby accelerating the wound healing process.

Who Should Get HBOT?

Approved indications for HBOT, which are currently reimbursed by Medicare, HMOs and other insurance providers, include:

• Diabetic ulcers of the lower extremities
• Soft tissue radionecrosis and osteoradionecrosis
• Chronic refractory osteomyelitis
• Compromised skin grafts and flaps
• Actinomycosis
• Crush injury/acute traumatic peripheral ischemia
• Progressive necrotizing infections
• Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency 

Wound Care Providers

Helpful Links

• Healogics
• CDC Diabetes and Your Feet

Call 270.251.4156 to get connected with care