Treat your skin after elders’ wounds / injuries?
One in four seniors in the US fall every year. Seniors become prone to falling as their legs and feet get weaker, they develop vision problems, as they use medications that affect their balance, and for a host of other reasons. Some of these can be easily helped. For example, ensuring floors have an even, non-slip surface and are clutter-free is a good start. Wearing proper footwear and using a walker or cane, if necessary, are actionable steps to take to avoid a fall.
Many falls do not cause injuries, but those that do often reduce a senior’s independence, as the senior now has difficulty doing every day activities or moving around. After a fall, a senior might become afraid of falling and this further causes them to limit their activities, which in turn affects their mental health and well-being. This reduced activity also causes seniors to get weaker and therefore more likely to fall again. Injuries from falls usually include broken bones and fractures. Common sites of injury are the wrists, ankles and hips. Head injuries are worrying for two main reasons; one damage to the brain will likely have serious consequences, and two, if a senior is on blood thinners they are at greater risk of having some kind of internal bleeding which can be very serious. Falls can also result in the senior cutting or puncturing themselves against sharp or pointy objects. Broken bones, fractures and suspected head injuries should be treated by a doctor. You can treat minor injuries at home, provided the senior doesn’t have diabetes or other illness that can complicate the wound healing process. Treat wounds by properly cleaning the area, keeping it moist, and protecting it from infection.Bed sores are another kind of wound that are more likely to affect seniors. Bedsores develop when a person is bedridden or immobile for some time. People who are too sick to move themselves, or who don’t have proper care that involves repositioning them every hour or two, are more likely to get bedsores. The pressure from laying in bed in the same position, or sitting in a wheelchair for hours on end cuts off blood flow to the area, leading to ulcers in the long run. Being in a coma, having diabetes or poor circulation problems increases your risk of developing bedsores.Bedsores range from mild to severe. Early stage bedsores don’t have an open sore. The skin is itchy, painful and looks red, or have a blue or purple tint if your skin is dark. As the bedsore worsens, so does the pain and the discoloration. There is likely to be an open sore or blister. As the condition advances, the damage goes beyond the skin and begins to affect muscles, tendons and even bones, usually accompanied by slough which is tissue that will need to be removed for healing to take place.
General treatment of elders’ wounds / injuries
Once the skin becomes broken, bedsores are very difficult to treat and can take months, even years to heal. This is why prevention is the best treatment for bedsores. The key is to reposition the person who is bedridden every two hours, or in a wheelchair, every 15 minutes. If an ulcer develops, then keep the wound clean and protect it from infection. In advanced cases, it may be necessary to remove damaged and infected tissue, in which case, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics to treat infections.
The advantages of using SilverStream
SilverStream is a wound management system that is proven to shorten healing time by up to 50%. It works in several ways to heal difficult to treat wounds like bedsores. The patented formulation contains glycerol, which maintains the best moisture level for healing.
SilverStream is a superior alternative to petroleum jelly for achieving this result because it doesn’t pose a risk of infection like petroleum jelly does. In fact, SilverStream stops infections before they begin. It contains a low concentration of silver ions which destroys something called biofilm which microbes produce to develop resistance to antibiotics.
Biofilm is a key factor in non-healing wounds. Getting rid of it helps bedsores to heal faster.Other benefits of using SilverStream includes the fact that it is non-stinging, provides pain relief, and reduces odor.
How to Use SilverStream® to Treat Your Skin After elders’ wounds / injuries
- SilverStream® comes as a clear, colourless liquid. Wash the bedsore with SilverStream by means of a syringe or bulb.
- You can also spray the area from a spray bottle, or clean the area with gauze soaked in SilverStream.
- Use the device that has the kind of pressure needed for removing the build-up of slough that might be present in ulcer.
- Keep open skin covered with a non-stick gauze bandage.
- Apply 1-2 times daily; up to 700 mL per day, or according to physician’s instructions.
