How long wound packing stay in

You may shower as usual after the first 24 hours, but do not soak the area in water no tub baths or swimming until after you follow up with your doctor. Most skin wounds heal within ten days. However, even with proper treatment, a wound infection may occur. Check the wound daily for signs of infection listed below. Bullets do their damage at the time of injury. Once a bullet or fragment comes to rest, it rarely causes any further problem. Unlike what you may have seen on television, it is usually not necessary to remove the bullet.

In fact, removing a bullet or its fragments may cause more damage to the surrounding tissues. A stab wound usually causes a small opening at the skin, but may go very deep. As a result, nerves, tendons, blood vessels and organs can be injured. Your exam today did not show injury to any deep organs or tissues. Sometimes a deep injury may not be found during the first exam, so watch for the signs below.

Because this is a type of puncture wound, the skin opening is not sutured closed. This is to reduce problems in the event of an infection. As a result, blood may ooze from the wound opening during the first 24 hours. After removing the bandage, wash the area with soap and water. Use a wet cotton swab Q tip to loosen and remove any blood or crust that forms. You may remove the bandage and shower as usual after the first 24 hours, but do not soak the area in water no swimming or tub baths until after you follow up with your doctor.

If sutures or staples are in place, it is important to keep your appointment for removal. If they are left in place too long permanent marks may remain. If Steri-Strips were applied, they will usually fall off by themselves after days.

Your doctor wants you to apply a special dressing, or packing, to your wound. When a wound is deep, or when it tunnels under the skin, packing the wound can help it heal. The packing material absorbs any drainage from the wound, which helps the tissues heal from the inside out.

Without the packing, the wound might close at the top, without healing at the deeper areas of the wound. You were shown how to pack your wound before you left the hospital. The following guidelines will help you remember how to take care of your wound. Open your outer dressing material and place it on the towel.

Make a follow-up appointment. It is recommended that you be seen within 48 hours after the first time a packing is placed. Discharge Instructions: Packing a Wound You will need to care for a special dressing, or packing, in your wound. Gather your supplies Keep your supplies all in 1 place.

You will need the following: Packing material Sterile wetting solution Sterile gloves A clean bowl Scissors A clean towel A bandage to put on the top of the wound after you have packed it Tape Cotton swabs A small plastic bag Clean up Clean the area where you will set out your dressing supplies.

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Put a clean towel over the area and set a clean bowl on it. Prepare the packing material Pour enough wetting solution into the clean bowl to wet the packing material.

Pack the wound Wash your hands thoroughly again. Use soap and water. Put the outer dressing over the packing and wound site. Tape the outer dressing in place. Home » The Waiting Room. I am going to be frank with you. When it comes to packing an abscess , I absolutely hate it. There is something so barbaric to the idea of shoving a foreign object into someone and telling them to come back in 48 to 72 hours to have it pulled out again.

Patients seem to think the same thing, as their eyes often widen when they are told they are being sent home with something left inside of them.

To us in the medical field, this is a relatively normal idea. But to those with no medical background, this idea seems horrible.

In addition, no matter how hard I try, there appears to be no such thing as painless abscess packing in the emergency department ED. Patients generally tend to hate it. The purported purpose of packing is that it helps absorb any remaining exudate, prevents infection if it is iodoform and prevents the incision from prematurely closing, thus allowing the abscess to continue to drain.

But in the world of so many medical advances, are we really still at this point? Surprisingly, the answer is no.