don't ever let me be your wound care nurse!

[brownbook]

Yikes, worlds stupidest nurse here!

I don't even know how it happened but I got a small, superficial, burn on my upper left arm. Of course we were on vacation so I just ignored it. When we got home 3 days later I grabbed a large bandage, put some anitbiotic ointment on it, and covered the area. It was already kind of scabbing, healing.

So stupid me I just leave the bandage on for about 5 days!!!!! How stupid, finally I realize it is starting to smell!!! I peel the bandage off, the wound looks yucky, and my skin is red and irritated where the bandage was.

I am not a wound care nurse, (duh.) It just scares, annoys, me how little I know of basic first aid. I'm fine in a hospital, start that IV, push that drug, etc. but basic at home first aid, fergeddaboudit.

I did read up on wound care. But nothing like the school of hard knocks to reinforce the right way to do things.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Daily dressings! Don't beat yourself up. I make a lousy nurse and patient to myself. :)

[3PRN]

It was irritated where the bandage was but how was the wound? I'm guessing it was all healed. You just got a lesson in autolytic debridement! I think you'd make a fine wound care nurse.

[brownbook]

Hi, thanks for your responses. I guess I did a kind of autolytic debridement (I had to google that), but I think I should have been changing the dressing every day. The dressing was getting all wet and moist from the shower. The skin was irritated from the band aid or adhesive, but the wound didn't look that great either.....kind of yellow moist ? dead ? whatever (I never know what that yellowish gunk is that is part of the wound healing????)

I know I read several years ago that contrary to my childhood wisdom, a scab forming over a scrapped knee is not a good thing and that abrasions, scrapes, should be covered and kept moist but still changed every day, right?

I'm off to have my arm amputated, ha ha, actually there is still a small thin crusty area but I think I saved the arm!