The Basics of Vascular Wound Care: What You Need to Know

Vascular wound care is one of the essential services you would get from specialist care. However, there will also be a significant part that requires you to care for the wounds at home, so it helps to know the basics.

As with most other medical issues, the specific care will depend on the type of wound. There are various vascular wounds, but the main ones are venous ulcers and arterial ulcers.

Venous Ulcers

These types of wounds normally happen on the lower leg, often around the Gaiter area, or the median ankle. They are painful and vulnerable to infections, and they can be difficult to manage and heal because the underlying cause is often venous insufficiency. Further, because you are more likely to spend time sitting with your legs hanging instead of elevated gravity, it worsens the ulcers.

The main primary care is thus keeping your legs elevated to the same level as your heart or above. The next step is having a support hose or compression bandages. You put these on starting from the toes and going up to the knees but maintaining an even pressure.

The type of venous ulcers also determines the kind of dressing to be used.  For example, a hydrogel or hydrocolloid dressing with collagenase ointment for necrotic ulcers. You will also need wound debridement to remove the necrotic tissue.

In the case of venous wounds that are bleeding or draining heavily, alginate dressings are perfect and will help absorb most of the drainage as well as control the bleeding. For a healing ulcer, which you can detect by the granulation tissue, polyurethane foam dressings are perfect, while for a wound that is almost healed and has started to epithelialize, collagen dressings are perfect.

Arterial Ulcers

These are also called ischemic ulcers and are usually caused by peripheral vascular disease. While they are commonly found on the foot, especially the toes, they can occur elsewhere too.

They are usually deep and have a more regular round shape compared to venous ulcers. They do not bleed because there is no blood supply to the wound. As such, their treatment care is equally different, and for starters, there is no use of supporting hoses and compression dressings.

First, you want to sit in a position that will have your legs in a much lower position than the heart to boost circulation in the peripheral areas. In general, wound debridement should not be applied to this scenario since your wound may not heal and only get worse. The dressing is generally to help prevent the wound from getting infected, so the dressings are pretty similar to those used for venous vascular wounds.

Why You Need Specialist Care

Specialist care should be the first point when facing any wound care. Accurate diagnosis and the ruling out of any other underlying issues are vital for fast healing. The other important role they play is having an effective regimen for the underlying issue.

There are not so many vascular specialists around most areas, but thankfully, for those located in Takoma Park, Frederick, Baltimore, Largo, and Gaithersburg, Maryland, Washington Vascular Specialists are a perfect solution. They have decades of experience, state-of-the-art equipment, and qualified certified medical professionals. They can also help determine if you are at risk of developing any vascular wounds. Book an appointment with them today.