Wound Management

Travelling in Thailand, there are many extreme activities. Sometimes, You might get some wounds from accident on your activities. Especially in PhiPhi Islands, just walking on the beach, you might have wound easily on your bare feet. Every wounds can let you have infection even small wound if it not be care properly and correctly.

The basic principles for the management of a wound or laceration are

Haemostasis

Haemostasis is the process that causes bleeding to stop. In most wounds, haemostasis will be spontaneous. In cases of significant injury or laceration of vessels, steps may need to be taken to reduce bleeding and aid haemostasis. These include pressure, elevation, tourniquet, and suturing

Cleaning the Wound

Wound cleaning is important for reducing infection and promoting healing. There are five aspects of wound cleaning

• Disinfect the skin around the wound with antiseptic.
  • Avoid getting alcohol or detergents inside the wound.
• Decontaminate the wound by manually removing any foreign bodies.
• Debride any devitalised tissue where possible.
• Irrigate the wound with normal saline
  • If there is no obvious contamination present, low pressure irrigation is sufficient (pouring normal saline from a sterile container carefully into the wound)
  • If the wound is clearly contaminated, it must be irrigated at high pressure (via a green needle and syringe) to remove any visible debris present.
• Antibiotics are advised in high-risk wounds or signs of infection (follow local antibiotic guidelines)
  • Risk factors for wound infection include foreign body present or heavily soiled wounds, bites (including human), puncture wounds and open fractures.