Chronic wounds of the elderly – where do they come from? Types of chronic wounds [WE EXPLAIN]

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Chronic wounds are a common problem affecting the elderly, who are usually very ashamed of it. There may be at least several reasons for their formation, both those directly related to the patient’s health condition and mechanical damage. For this reason, we have decided to take a closer look at this issue.

Chronic wounds of the elderly – general characteristics

Wounds are defined as anatomical tissue disruption. We divide them into acute and chronic. Acute ones heal very quickly (2-7 days). Chronic wounds, on the other hand, can take months to heal. Untreated, they lead to serious infections. More often, chronic wounds appear in seniors who do not have as elastic skin as younger people.

Chronic wounds of the elderly – causes

There are at least several causes of chronic wounds in the elderly, which are partly related to the types of wound. The first division is how the wound is formed. On the one hand, we are dealing with strictly mechanical factors. On the other hand – with symptoms of severe diseases, including cancer. The second division assumes the occurrence of symptoms related (as mentioned) with the patient’s health condition. The most characteristic are diabetic wounds directly related to insulin secretion disorders.

Types of chronic wounds in the elderly

The most common chronic wounds among the elderly are:

• pressure ulcers – wounds resulting from long-term friction and / or pressure. Most often it affects people who are immobilized. Pressure ulcers are very difficult to treat due to the frequency of infections as well as tissue necrosis;

• venous leg ulcers – wounds that usually occur on the calves or ankles as a result of chronic venous insufficiency focused in the lower limbs. Although they mainly occur in seniors, they can also occur in younger people;

• diabetic foot syndrome – a condition that affects most diabetics. The blood vessels in the foot become damaged, leading to tissue necrosis. In the worst case, the patient is at risk of amputation.

Chronic wounds may also appear as a result of burns (e.g. thermal burns).

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Chronic wounds of the elderly – what is the treatment like?

Treating chronic wounds in the elderly is very difficult, but proper medical care can speed up the healing process. The most important thing is very thorough hygiene (cleaning the wound), as well as extremely gentle care. In this case, silver dressings, occlusive dressings, antibiotic dressings and those that absorb exudate may work. Due to the dying of the tissues, an elderly patient may experience severe pain when moving, which also leads to depression. The factor that makes elderly patients ashamed of their wounds is the unpleasant smell that may come out of the wound. For this reason, a sick person may find it useful to have specialist care. While decontaminating the wound, nurses or family members should not let them know that there is a bad smell coming from the wound because the senior isolates himself from people even more.

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