The first time mom ripped open the skin on her elbow, I freaked out. That time it was her elbow. I called the Kaiser Helpline and the nurse advised me to wash it every day and apply Vaseline. That was in November, 2021.
Last summer (June, 2022), mom fell and ripped up the skin on her hand. We took her to the ER and the nurse said her skin was so thin it wouldn't be able to handle stitches. She applied steri-strips to close the wound. I'd never heard of a steri-strip. However, the wound healed pretty quickly.
And now...
In February, mom said she just brushed her arm against the edge of the wall and ripped up her skin again. Arrrgghh!
We found it! It's called a Wound Closure.
I now have a full assortment of medical supplies to treat mom's wounds.
I was really worried about that one open area, but eventually it seemed to close. Mom said it didn't hurt at all anymore.
None of this freaks her out.
And me... I'm actually almost starting to get used to it.
Mom keeps telling me she knows she heals well because she's happy.
I'd be happier if she didn't get hurt so often.
POSTSCRIPT:
Incredible! After less than a month, her horrible wound is pretty much healed.
Pretty darn amazing!
Elderly skin is so fragile and so easily damaged. It's good that you have a supply of remedies.
ReplyDeleteBoth my husband and I have noticed how easily our thin skin breaks and bleeds these days. Just another reminder we are old.
ReplyDeleteKay these photos are pretty amazing. So sorry for your poor mom, but she has one very resourceful daughter. ❤️
ReplyDeleteYou are nursing her back to health very well. Doesn't look like there was much blood involved for you to staunch. Hope she continues to heal and be careful hitting and rubbing things.
ReplyDeleteI understand how scary that was for you. My mother’s skin was so thin she was constantly getting skin tears. I wonder if there is anything that can be done in our sixties and seventies to prevent the skin getting so thin in our eighties? You did a great job in helping her heal.
ReplyDeleteKay of Musings: Please read DrumMajor’s comment down below. She is a nurse and always gives excellent advice.
DeleteYou are doing an amazing job as caregiver, Kay. I am quite certain your mom's happiness helps her heal but I also understand that you would prefer she didn't have to heal in the first place.
ReplyDeleteGood job, Nurse Kay! I love that your mom thinks she heals well because she is happy...and I'm inclined to believe her.
ReplyDeleteI am 87 and I fell last month in the parking lot at the market and took a lot of skin off my right knee. I was reading my grocery list and tripped over one of those things they put in parking spaces to keep folks from hitting the wall of the market. I wasn't paying attention. It took quite awhile to heal. I put antibiotic ointment on it after cleaning it every day after my bath. I was very embarrassed.Two employees were just arriving and they rushed over and helped me up. That knee is still not 100% but it no longer hurts. And I have bruises from the fall on my right leg and broken blood vessels. Aggravating! And I am Margie...not Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteMy late mil lived with us, when she was 94 and had skin tears. The worst was when she somehow got her leg inside the recliner mechanism and had a huge tear on her shin. We ran to the ER for that one. You are doing a great job taking care of your moms. Joyce
ReplyDeleteKay of Musings: Yoooowch! That sounds awful!!!
DeleteOur bodies' ability to heal itself is miraculous. Your mom is a miracle.
ReplyDeleteSo happy it is healed
ReplyDeleteI believe the happiness helps us heal. That was an awful tear. I'm in my 80's and it happens a lot more but none like your Mom's wound. You are such a wonderful caregiver and daughter. I love her attitude.
ReplyDeleteOmigosh! Glad she healed nicely, reminds me of my parents and when they injured themselves. Does she wear gardening sleeves when she’s out in the yard? My husband is on blood thinners and wears this to prevent cuts and scrapes on his arms and it seems to help. You can find it on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteIzsmom
Kay of Musings: She’s mostly just pulling weeds so doesn’t need gloves…. So far anyway. You just never know.
DeleteKay it’s not really gloves, it doesn’t cover the hands but just the arms up to the elbow. There are some that start from the hand as well. https://www.amazon.com/Protections-Resistant-Protectors-Protective-Gardening/dp/B09DDZCM25/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=arm%2Bsleeves%2Bfor%2Bgardening&qid=1679158018&sr=8-10&th=1
DeleteWhat a great idea! I just looked it up and it looks like it would really protect her arms. She should wear it ALL the time. :-)
Delete👍🏼❤️
DeleteSo sorry to read about your Mom’s fall and can only imagine how stressful this was. Always scary but happy to know she is healed. She is resilience personified, a great role model and so is her daughter :)
ReplyDeleteReminds me of my grandmother who was always tearing her thin skin. We used a lot of wound closure strips on her over the years.
ReplyDeleteThat is a frightening looking wound but you're finding the best ways to deal with her injuries. And she does heal very well!!
ReplyDeleteLooks so painful.
ReplyDeleteKay, your mom's wound looks like its healing really well. Those sterile strips are probably a godsend. Keep up the good work. It's obvious your mom is happy from her smiles.
ReplyDeleteOh I feel so bad for her. My husband had really thin fragile skin like that while he was going through chemo. I had to use a non stick pad and gauze bandages that I taped to itself since I couldn't put the tape on his skin.
ReplyDeleteKay, you are a wonderful, helpful daughter, and I’m so glad your mom is doing well. Wound care procedures have definitely changed a lot. I learned to do as you said too—wash it gently and use vaseline or equivalent ointment, rather than antibiotic ointments (Bacitracin, etc.), like we used to. One other thing you may want to know, the dermatologist told me to keep the wound clean & moist with vaseline and covered to protect from air/drying out, until completely healed. It heals from inside out and prevents scabbing.
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️ Carole from Illinois 😁
We were told at both Tripler Army Hospital and Kaiser to just use Vaseline instead of an antibiotic cream. I actually stopped using the Vaseline once I got the non-stick bandages on, but I’ll remember this for the future. Thanks a bunch, Carole.
DeleteGlad that trauma is behind you. It looks great! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that these injuries happen. they aren't nice and although your mom responds to treatment it's still a worry.
ReplyDeleteI hereby defer the RNM to Kay! That's an "RN by way of Mom" degree! I bet she snuck a few swipes of her aloe plant on that wound too. Yep, simple cleaning and steri strips do wonders. You can put them on every bit of the torn skin line. We usually just leave them on until they fall off, cutting the curling ends as they disconnect. We'll sometimes wrap with loose gauze around the arm, just to protect it while it starts healing. With non-stick pads and steri strips, we usually still wet the wound with the wound cleaner or sterile water (or normal saline) before trying to gently remove, as most wounds will stick, even to a non-stick pad. A swig of sake will help both of you. Keep a good supply of wound care stuff on hand. A medical supply store may have the steri strips, wound cleaner, and bottles of sterile water a tad cheaper than the local drug store. Yep, steri strips have always been expensive! Might look for a bubble wrap blouse for Mom to wear! Nice work Kay! Your care has healed Mom's wounds about twice as fast as my previous hospice and facility patients. Hugz to all, Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteKay of Musings: Thanks a bunch, Linda. I wish you lived next door. I ALWAYS value your advice. The CVS/Longs here carried the steri-strips. I was really happy and relieved to find it. I would love to bubble wrap her. Her knee has been hurting her so we took her to the doctor today. Before he entered the office, she said her knee didn’t hurt anymore. Arrghhh…. Didn’t matter. He had us take her to X-ray anyway and advised us to take her off the Simvastatin for a couple of weeks because it’s been known to cause some joint pain. And at her age such a small amount of pill shouldn’t affect much.
DeleteI just cut off those ends so they don't pull off by mistake. Thanks so much, Linda!
DeleteResilient!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job, Nurse Kay. Elder skin can be so fragile.
ReplyDeleteYou both did well in dealing with this,
ReplyDeleteLin Floyd says it's not easy being a caregiver but you're doing a great job!
ReplyDeleteOh, the bane of thinning skin...it sure annoys me. I really want to be thick-skinned, in all respects, so nothing bothers me!
ReplyDeleteOuch!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes notice bruises on me and wonder how they happened.
I'm glad she's doing better
ReplyDeleteThanks for all this great information. I hope she's doing well
ReplyDeleteYou have posted other injuries that your mom had in the past and it always amazes me how she heals relatively fast. This time too and her wounds heal so nicely. Could it be the plum wine she loves. Lol
ReplyDeleteBonny from OGG
Hi Bonny! It's so wonderful to hear from you. Please give Robert a hug for us. I hope we get to travel together again someday. We are going to go on a couple of trips this year. We'll be going to Japan this summer with the kids and families. Seems everybody is going to Japan this year. Stay safe please. And yes, mom does heal much, much faster than me or my brother. We did not inherit her genes.
DeleteYou did a good job, so pleased that it has healed.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
That looks gruesome! Thank you for sharing the information, though. There are so many tricks to keeping our loved ones safe and well.
ReplyDelete