Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame.
The four phases of wound healing. The complicated mechanism of wound healing occurs in four phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling.
The cascade of healing is divided into these four overlapping phases: Hemostasis, Inflammatory, Proliferative, and Maturation. Hemostasis, the first phase of healing, begins at the onset of injury, and the objective is to stop the bleeding.
Remodeling or also known as maturation phase is the fourth and final phase in wound healing and lasts from 21 days up to 2 years. In this final and longest phase, collagen synthesis is ongoing in order to strengthen the tissue.
The human adult wound healing process can be divided into 3 or 4 distinct phases. Earlier authors referred to 3 phases—inflammatory, fibroblastic, and maturation, which has also been denoted as inflammatory, proliferation, and remodeling—and this is maintained by some authors.
As it relates to connective tissue repair, the healing process is triphasic including an acute inflammatory phase, a repair phase and a remodeling phase. While these three phases are defined individually they represent a progression over time with a significant degree of overlap.
Healthy granulation tissue is pink in colour and is an indicator of healing. Unhealthy granulation is dark red in colour, often bleeds on contact, and may indicate the presence of wound infection. Such wounds should be cultured and treated in the light of microbiological results.
Nociceptive pain – This kind of pain arises due to damage in the tissue at the wound site. Described mostly as throbbing or aching sensation, the nerve endings in the damaged tissue pick up sensory signals from the wound and send them to the brain.
The golden hour is the period of time immediately after a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical and surgical treatment will prevent death.
You should keep a wound moist and covered for about five days.
Deeper lacerations may take several weeks and even months to completely heal, and they may require stitches and other treatment from medical professionals to prevent complications and scarring.
Wounds heal faster if they are kept warm. Try to be quick when changing dressings. Exposing a wound to the open air can drop its temperature and may slow healing for a few hours. Don't use antiseptic creams, washes or sprays on a chronic wound.
What was the secret these ancient healers discovered? How to harmoniously balance the five basic energies, or “elements” (earth, metal, water, wood, and fire) that relate to our body's organs and play a key role in our health.
I believe there are five primary components to true healing: Body, Mind, Spirit, Heart, I AM (Affirmations and Beliefs). When we attend to all these five aspects of our lives, we can heal at the deepest possible levels.
Remodelling. Remodelling is the final phase of the healing process in which the granulation tissue matures into scar and tissue tensile strength is increased (Figure 23.5).
Over time, the new tissue gets stronger. You might notice stretching, itching, and even puckering of the wound as that happens. The wound gains strength quickly over the first 6 weeks of healing. In about 3 months, the wound is 80% as strong in its repair as it was before the injury.
While healing of any kind does take time, sometimes the process may require more than just patiently waiting. If you have experienced a wound or traumatic event, it's okay to reach out for help. You may find that reaching out to others opens the floodgates of emotion and allows healing to flow in.
Between the times of 10:00 pm and 2:00 am the body goes through a dramatic process of physical repair. Between roughly 2:00 am and 6:00 am the body will go through a process of psychological repair. A disrupted sleep pattern will cause the Cortisol to elevate and negatively affect the regenerative process.
Pain. Pain is an essential indicator of poor wound healing and should not be underestimated. Pain can occur from the disease process, surgery, trauma, infection or as a result of dressing changes and poor wound management practices.
Dressing removal, wound cleansing, debridement, microbial damage and inappropriate dressing selection can all contribute to wound-related pain. However, it has been demonstrated that dressing removal and wound cleansing are often reported as the most painful experiences associated with wound management (8).
It's normal to feel some pain, swelling, and heat around a wound as it starts to heal. But if the pain doesn't go away, it might indicate a non-healing wound. Non-healing wounds can cause worsening pain over time. You may notice increasing swelling, redness, and even develop a fever if infection occurs.
Signs it's working: During this stage of healing, you may experience swelling, redness or pain while your wound heals. Your skin may also feel hot to the touch, and you may see a clear liquid around your wound. These are all signs that the inflammatory stage of wound healing is well underway.
Drainage. Discharge of pus and blood is also a normal part of the process. Normal drainage is clear or yellow and signifies that your body is removing excess debris from the wound. If your drainage is cloudy, has a strong scent, or is tinged with red, this may indicate infection.