Ch 11: Treating Wounds
About This Chapter
Treating Wounds - Chapter Summary
The lessons in this chapter examine treatments for many types of wounds. Follow along with our expert instructors to learn about a range of wound treatment topics, such as negative wound pressure therapy, wound packing, wound irrigation, cauterization and wound healing.
You can access the chapter at any time, and we encourage you to try the accompanying lesson quizzes and chapter exam to make sure you fully understand key terms and concepts. Our instructors are available to answer any questions you may have, and the chapter is accessible on any device that has an Internet connection.
How It Helps
These lessons are designed to help anyone who needs to learn or review essential information about wound treatment processes. Healthcare professionals can use this chapter in conjunction with continuing education or training materials.
Skills Covered
By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:
- Recognize devices that are used in negative pressure wound therapy
- Summarize the history of negative pressure wound therapy
- Explain wound slough treatment
- Break down the process of wound packing
- Describe wound culture and wound irrigation procedures
- Evaluate the uses of cauterization in medicine
- Outline the stages of wound granulation
- Understand wound healing and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)
- Identify factors that affect wound healing
- Tell how wound blisters are treated after surgery

1. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy: Definition & Devices
Many patients with various conditions develop wounds that are difficult to heal. This lesson is about negative pressure wound therapy, an innovative technique used in wound healing.

2. History of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy
Negative pressure wound therapy involves using a vacuum dressing to help promote wound healing. Learn about the history of negative pressure wound therapy and how this treatment was established.

3. Wound Slough: Definition, Healing & Treatment
Many factors can cause difficulty in wound healing, including the development of slough. Discover the characteristics of this complication, why it interferes with healing, and the different debridement methods used to treat slough.

4. Wound Packing: Application, Materials & Removal
Wound packing is a technique used to treat large, open, or deep wounds. Read this lesson to learn the different types of packing materials, indications of use, and removal process.

5. Wound Culture: Collection & Procedure
A wound culture is a test to determine what specific microorganisms in a wound caused an infection. Learn all about the medical procedure in this lesson.

6. Cauterization in Medicine: Definition & Uses
Explore the use of cauterization as a treatment practice in medicine. Discover how professionals perform cauterization and explore how it works to seal bleeding wounds and remove abnormal tissue.

7. Wound Irrigation: Definition & Procedure
Wound irrigation is the act of flushing a wound with a gentle stream of liquid in order to remove dead tissue or other debris. Learn about this medical procedure.

8. Wound Granulation: Definition, Stages & Care
Wound granulation refers to the new tissues and blood vessels that grow in a wound during the healing process. Learn about the definition, stages, and care for wound granulation.

9. Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP) & Wound Healing
In this lesson, we'll be learning about matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their role in the three phases of wound healing. Then, we'll look at how these proteins are dysregulated during disease states.

10. Factors that Affect Wound Healing
This lesson will describe some of the factors that affect wound healing. The factors we will focus on include those that slow down the healing process as well as those that speed it up.

11. Treatment for Wound Blisters After Surgery
Wound blisters or skin irritations may remain after surgery is performed. Understand the occurrence of wound blisters, and learn treatment methods for wound blisters caused by surgery.

12. First Aid for Cuts & Lacerations
Cuts and lacerations typically do not require emergency medical services for treatment. Read this lesson to learn how to effectively treat minor injuries to the skin with the use of first aid techniques.

13. First Aid for Fractures
Using the acronym R.I.C.E., First Aid for Fractures will cover basic steps one can take to support someone with a fracture and minimize further injury until medical care is obtained. We will be discussing care that can be provided anywhere and with easily accessible materials.

14. How to Treat a Compound Fracture: First Aid Response
In this lesson we will review what a compound fracture is and how to provide first aid treatment by controlling bleeding, preventing infection and adapting the steps in R.I.C.E.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Critical Care Nursing course
- Critical Care Nursing Essentials
- Evidence-Based Practice for Nursing
- Critical Care Nursing in Pediatrics
- Sleep & Sedation in Critical Care
- Deep Vein Thrombosis: Theory and Treatment
- Deep Vein Thrombosis: Practical Applications
- Critical Care Nursing for Skin Conditions
- Infections of the Blood & Respiratory System
- Treating Bleeding Issues
- Types of Wounds
- Treating Ulcers
- Understanding Necrosis
- Critical Care Nursing for the Liver & Kidneys
- Critical Care Nursing for Eyes
- Electric Shocks & Electrical Burns
- Bruises, Contusions & Hematomas
- Diagnosing & Treating Chest & Stomach Injuries
- Pelvic Injuries
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Tourniquets
- Poison & Chemical Exposure
- Bacterial & Viral Tropical Diseases
- Fungal Tropical Infections
- Helminth Infections
- Protozoan Infections