Our skin is one of the most important parts of our body. It is the one responsible for protecting our inner tissues and nerves from getting damaged due to injuries. Without the skin, we will be very sensitive to anything including the scorching heat from the sun and the bacteria that could easily get inside our system. That’s the reason why there is so much need to take care of our skin no matter what the circumstance is.
However, as we age, our skin becomes drier and thinner, which leads to skin tears when not attended right away. You may have noticed that your skin is way different from your grandparents’ skin. Your skin can be stretched without damage while old people’s skin can be easily ripped down resulting to open wounds.
What Is Skin Tear?
A skin tear is a wound that appears so suddenly even if you don’t remember hurting yourself. This is common for old people and people with thinner and dry skin because as the person aged, the blood vessels no longer provide a lot of nutrients to moisturize the skin tissues.
Will Skin Tear Heal on Its Own?
A skin tear will heal on its own for about 3-4 weeks. However, some people with skin tear take a longer time to heal or can even get worst when not catered to. Since skin tear is an open wound, there is a big possibility that it will become an infected wound, when made in contact with bacteria and viruses around. So, it if turns out to be an infected wound, the more complicated it would heal most especially for older people with health problems like diabetes.
What Are Other Causes of Skin Tear?
Your skin tear is caused by accidentally hitting something sharp or getting some cuts because your skin will tear right away when in contact with harmful objects. Other factors that may cause skin tear involves too much exposure to the sun, taking some medications that result in thinning of the skin, genetics, and most importantly aging.
What Is the Best Skin Tear Treatment?
There is only one best skin tear treatment and that is to make sure that the open wounds will not turn to infected wounds. If you are able to do this, you will not complicate the wound treatment because wounds that are not infected will go back to the original structure on their own.
Before anything else, you need to secure with you some hand gloves because it serves as a protective barrier. You surely wouldn’t want to touch other things with your bare hands after touching an open wound. Make sure that the hand gloves you use are made up of high-quality material that won’t tear or stretch out when used. Or else you will end up with infected wounds even if you’ve undergone skin tear treatment. You can buy the most durable and comfortable hand gloves that fit like a second skin on Amazon now!
Make sure you know how to treat a skin tear at home to promote fast healing or you can just follow the in-depth guide about wound dressing presented below.
How to Put A Wound Dressing
- The first thing that you have to do is to clean or sanitize your hands. You can do this by washing your hands with soap and water or by using alcohol.
- Put on your hand gloves so that your hand that could still be contaminated with bacteria will not be in contact with the open wounds.
- If the skin tear is bleeding, elevate and put some pressure on the affected area.
- If the bleeding has stopped, gently wash the open wound with water and isotonic saline solution or soap.
- Use a clean towel to dry the skin tear. Make sure to pat it because rubbing might irritate the open wound.
- If in case there is a skin flap, gently put it back to its original position. There is no need to remove them.
- The last step is wound dressing. Cover the open wound with a clean yet non-sticky pad so it won’t be hard to remove the wound dressing when the skin tear is fully healed.
How to Prevent Skin Tear?
Protect Your Skin Using Your Clothes
You will experience skin tear if your skin is always exposed to any object that may harm you. For example, if you like to wear shorts and you bumped your leg into the edge of a glass table, then your skin is likely to tear. Unlike when it is covered with pants, the cotton will save your skin from any breakage. The ideal clothing to prevent skin tear is long sleeves and pants. Avoid clothing with zippers too because it may grab your skin and tear it down.
Moisturize Your Skin
One of the reasons for skin tear is dry skin. Therefore, there is a need to moisturize your skin if you want to prevent skin tear from happening. Your skin may be dry due to the type of soap you use when you take a bath, so choose the ones with surfactants as their ingredients. Instead, use the soap with moisturizing factor followed by a moisturizing lotion. You should apply a moisturizing lotion at least twice a day.
Make Your Surrounding Safe and Clear
If your surroundings are clean and free of any material that may damage your skin, then you are also safe from any skin tear. Minor accidents happen at home such as bumping into the edge of furniture or slipping through wet areas will result in skin tear. It is important to mop the floor and get the debris left, most especially if you live with older people who have weak bones and balance problems.
Create a Well Lighted House
You won’t be needing skin tear treatment if you make sure that your house is well-lighted. Some people think that a well-lighted house is only for accentuating the furniture inside your house. What they don’t know is that good lighting will let you see the things around you or on your way, so you can avoid tripping or bump on them that may lead to skin tear. Make sure every room has a bulb so you can switch it on and see things clearly.
Conclusion
Remember to right away treat open wounds no matter how small it is, most especially if it involves older people. People with health problems like diabetes need skin tear treatment too because their wounds take longer to heal than people with no complications. If it is taken care of and cleaned right away, it will heal in just two weeks, as long as it’s not an infected wound. However, if the skin tear is too big to handle, there’s is a need to visit a doctor and seek medical help to prevent bacterial infection.
Aside from skin tear, the other health problem a person can treat at home is a sore throat. If you want to know the secret of sore throat treatment for instant relief, click here.