Heel Wound Care

Blood flow in the tissue under the eschar is poor and the wound is susceptible to infection.

Heel wound care.

There are simple principles that need to be followed. Kazu suzuki dpm cws. Careful evaluation including a comprehensive chronologic history of injury identification of the reason for deep tissue injury and effective wound care are the first steps to healing the ulcer. Accordingly our expert panelists share their perspectives in providing wound care for these patients.

Cracked heels also known as fissures can be a nuisance but can occasionally lead to more serious problems if left untreated. Heel balms or thick moisturizers. Look for thick moisturizers eucerin cetaphil others. Wounds located on a patients heel either on the back or on the bottom.

How do you dispense offloading devices for pressure ulcers of heels. A simple method is to wet a piece of gauze with saline. Their anatomic location angiosomes and lack of surrounding muscle tissue make heel ulcers uniquely challenging in the wound care field. Although this is a controversial area that needs more research the current standard is to avoid removing stable eschar on the heel as recommended by both the 1994 agency for health care policy and research ahcpr and the 2003 wound ostomy and continence nurses society practice guidelines.

I will suggest a simple form here called wet to dry dressing. These usually come to our office after treatment by other specialists is not adequate for wound closure. There are many ways to perform wound care. We realize that these particular wounds are difficult to off load and allow the body to heal the wound.

The first line of treatment for cracked heels is using a heel balm these balms contain ingredients to moisturize soften and exfoliate dead skin. The ulcer should have a wick to grow on. Treat them by giving your feet a little more attention beginning with moisturizing them at least twice a day. The wound needs to stay clean.

Advances in skin and wound care 21 6 pg. Current standard of care guidelines recommend that stable intact dry adherent intact without erythema or fluctuance eschar on the heels should not be removed. Present a unique difficult to heal situation. An open wound is an injury involving an external or internal break in your body tissue usually involving the skin.