I wrote about mom scraping the skin off her arm a week and a half ago. I washed, applied petroleum jelly and covered it with a non-stick pad and paper tape which is gentler than other types of tape. I contacted her doctor and spoke to an Advice Nurse.
She said I needed to wash it out every day and continue to apply Vaseline so that night I did as she said.
However, I have to tell you that I think a day of air drying helped because it did look better.
I don't know if it's my imagination but the tube version seemed easier to apply than the jelly in the jar and seemed more sanitary.
I also didn't realize that Vaseline is just a brand. We had the generic version of petroleum jelly.
Since we got that $5 off of $20 coupon (for getting our boosters at CVS) I bought a good back up supply of non-stick pads and paper tape.
I'm thinking this won't be the last time we'll need first aid supplies. (Art did also get a scratch from thorns on our lemon tree.)
All I can say is, I'm glad mom seems to heal well.
POSTSCRIPT:
I just had to add this last photo. It looks quite healed now after 2 weeks. There's some raised keloid, but I'm thinking it will settle down after a while.
Oh, dear. Thank goodness it looks SO much better now thanks to such excellent care and no doubt some good genes.
ReplyDeleteIt did look bad at first but you evidently did the right thing because It looks a lot better now. Thank goodness she has you kids!
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, yes white petroleum jelly in a tube is what I have used for years on the parents and myself. They have smaller tubes at the dermatologist, but they told me to look and ask at the pharmacy as they should have it also.
ReplyDeleteI did find that paper tape could also cause skin tears. Sometimes I had to put a warm,wet cloth over it to get it to release. I also used coband / the stretchy elastic Bandage wrap that sticks to itself but not to your skin. It worked well on arms, legs and hands . I did have to use paper tape on torso areas. I found that skin on the torso was a little more forgiving with paper tape.
I never had to deal with keloids, though I know that some people tend to develop those during the healing process.
Hope you and your family are doing well.
M in NC
Thank you so much, M. I know Coban very well since we had to use that pressure bandage on my son’s arm for a couple of years when he had a Z-plasty on a very bad surgical scar from one of his many injuries as a child. Interesting that Tripler uses Coban now when we get our blood drawn. So far, the paper tape has worked well on mom’s arm.
DeleteGlad it is healing nicely now
ReplyDeleteI seem to always have wounds somewhere. Fortunately though, I heal fairly quickly so I'm not terribly bothered. It irks my wife since I often don't know I have them until she points out blood.
ReplyDeletePhew, that took a while but it really looks better. You are a good nurse. I use the tube stuff on my pacemaker scar after bathing (per doctor's orders) to keep the skin flexible. It seems softer than the jar version and spreads easier. Good item to have in the medicine cabinet.
ReplyDeleteThat's really wonderful. Thanks for sharing her elbow healing with us.
ReplyDeleteLovely new header. Can you tell us about it?
Dang! I used to be able to put the header information below the header and now can’t figure out how to do it with this new set-up. Aha! I may have to do a short post tomorrow to explain what it is.
DeleteThey don't say a thing about adding the information. I would think you could say something directly below the header tho.
DeleteI tried different ways, but couldn't get it the way I used to do it.
DeleteSo glad she's healing Kay. Bet you can do that dressing change with your eyes closed now.
ReplyDeleteI had to keep quiet, because a wound care nurse would have approached that differently. From working with wound care nurses, and a many courses on wound care (cancer and hospice patients have a jillion skin tears,) we usually use a spray bottle of non-stinging wound care cleaner. It's available at most medical supply stores, about $6-12 a bottle. That's the best thing to clean out wounds initially and for each dressing change. Just spray on a dab the wound with a clean 4x4 piece of gauze.
There are several types of creams that can be applied to skin tears and the various types of wounds. The problem with petroleum jelly is that it is an OINTMENT, which won't let any air to the wound. That's why the continual goo with the wound. Even some topical skin antibacterial stuff comes in blasted ointments. Fewer come in creams. CREAMS will let the wound get some air. Any DOUBLE antibacterial cream would be good. Even docs and some non-wound care nurses promote triple antibiotic ointment. Yes, Neosporin sells alot of the stuff. Much better is a double-antibiotic cream. It's harder to find, and sometimes I see double-antibiotic cream only in generic form. Wound care nurses will tell you that the triple version has 3 ingredients in it. One of those ingredients damages the good skin surrounding the wound! If you only use the double antibiotic cream, you'll help the injury and keep the surrounding good skin good.
When a wound is healing properly, it fills in with good, new matter, that appears a little yellow, but that's not an infection, that's the new cells settling into the wound. And, yes, the non-stick pads are still a good overlay. If the non-stick pad sticks to the wound, dribbling water, or spraying with the wound cleaner will help loosen it without hurting the area that's trying to heal. To hold the pad, if it will remain stuck to her, paper tape is good. Besides water, it can also be removed with a tiny bit of an alcohol pad under the tape as you're peeling it off, but don't put alcohol on any part of the wound.
Another good product is "Skin Prep." It's also at medical supply stores. It comes in little packets with a pad like an alcohol pad, so don't get them mixed up. After cleaning the wound, you wipe Skin Prep ONLY on the good, uninjured skin. It dries non-sticky. But it helps the paper tape stay on better.
Sorry to have waited to respond. I was keeping my mouth shut. I should have been more pushy. I've cleaned and rebandaged a jillion wounds, some big enough to put my fist in to....
So, for the next set of battle wounds, please find some:
Wound Care Cleaner spray; DOUBLE-antibiotic CREAM, Skin Prep packets, more paper tape (comes in different widths at medical supply stores,) package of 4x4 gauze.
Might want to send the photo of the keloids to the nurse and she what she thinks. Better yet, ask for a wound care consultant.
And yep, even if some googled site says aloe isn't good on skin tears, I'm thinking your Mom's history of using it provides better and quicker healing.
Aloha, Linda in Kansas
Hi Linda! Thank you so much for all this valuable information. I was hoping you’d write something too. I’m going to print this out and put it in mom’s file so I can be ready for next time.
DeleteI too love your new header and wonder about it. Also, it's great to see how well Mom recovered from that wound. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am very glad to see Linda (aka DrumMajor) pipe in. I was a bit skeptical about the Vaseline. That wound care cleaner spray is a winner. I had a huge open scrape when I fell and broke my arm and emergency care gently cleaned it (dirt and grass) then put something on it with a light gauze covering. My after care was more herbal and I also "bathed" it in the sun when I could.
ReplyDeleteWhat is most amazing to me is our body's ability to heal itself. So glad that Mom's wound healed!
That was a lot of work to get that wound healed up, but now you are an expert! I learned a lot from Linda's comment. I need to keep some of that cream around!
ReplyDeleteFound out ad we get older our skin becomes thin and therefore just a light touch can be painful. I like to leave any cut uncovered to get it to heal faster but that's just me.Stock up on all that stuff, falling becomes a thing as we age. My mom was always falling and scared me like crazy due to her bones. Even me, I always lose my balance somehow. BB
ReplyDeleteWeird thing is when I fall, I often manage to break something. Mom has fallen several times and except for breaking skin, she somehow has managed to not break anything else. Scares me silly every time though.
DeleteNice header and I remember Hawaii through it! I learned a lot about wounds. I know when my husband or I get injured we spend a good part in the beginning washing it.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that the wound has healed so well. It was sure scary looking at first.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Kay.
so, petroleum jelly or Vaseline? We use the terms without thinking about brand and generic versions.
ReplyDeleteThat still looks like an ugly wound. However , your Mom will recover rapidly with your care.
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks better. You are a healer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. Looks like you got good advice from lots of people that helped in the healing.
ReplyDeleteIt healed up nicely. I was keeping my mouth shut because I am certainly no expert, but vaseline sounded like a bad idea to me. (But who can argue with success??) But it's probably a very good idea to get a first aid pack together to have on hand. Your mom's skin seems very delicate.
ReplyDeleteGood that she is healing.
ReplyDeleteI keep telling myself I should put together a first aid kit for myself, but all I really have is a box of bandages.
I am surprised that you can communicate with your medics so easily by email.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased it is healing well now.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I am surprised you were told to put vaseline on! We usually use ointments with antibacterials in it. She is on the medn, which is good.
ReplyDelete