Common Wound Conditions
Chronic wounds often are diagnosed as wounds that are stubborn to heal or don’t show significant improvement within about four weeks. Chronic wounds can greatly affect a person’s quality of life. Stubborn wounds that won’t heal can seriously limit your normal activities and prevent you from being active, impact your work life, social life and family life. On a more serious note, these chronic wounds can also lead to complications such as dangerous infections and even amputation.
Wound Treatment Center
- RMC’s Wound Treatment Center helps heal these chronic wounds:
- Diabetic wounds
- Pressure ulcers
- Venous stasis ulcers
- Arterial ulcers
- Vasculitic ulcers
- Surgical wounds
- Complex soft tissue wounds
- Infected wounds
- Burns
Is There A Connection Between Diabetes And Chronic Wounds?
According to statistics from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), patients who have diabetes are much more likely to require wound care services.
- Five million people suffering chronic wounds have diabetic ulcers.
- Fifteen percent of all diabetics will develop chronic wounds.
- Diabetic patients have a 15-fold increase of amputation risk.
- Approximately 60,000 people with diabetes will undergo amputation each year.
- Diabetes-related amputations could be reduced by 50 percent if patients were routinely tested for neuropathy, educated to prevent complications and fitted with appropriate footwear.
- Neuropathy, or nerve damage, is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Neuropathy develops gradually, usually in the feet, and results in numbness. This is a warning sign of diabetes. If you have numbness in your toes or feet, be sure to tell your doctor or make an appointment with your primary care doctor as soon as possible.