wound care

Watch for Breaks in Skin

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My current project is gathering information to write a book on skincare and wound management. Therefore, wound and skincare are on my mind.

One of the most important practices I have is to check my husband’s skin regularly for any signs of skin breakdown. If I see the first hint of any break in the surface, I attack it immediately with repair cream to prevent further damage. I make sure that he stays off that side of his body for a while, allowing for better circulation to that area.

When I was doing home health nursing, I saw patients with pressure ulcers covering the entire buttock area. The wounds took years to heal, and the patients were in misery. The cause was often a failure to turn the patient frequently or keeping them clean after bladder or bowel accidents. Wounds would develop and progress with no one paying attention to how bad they were getting because of the location until suddenly, a crater had developed under the skin.

Caregivers, check all skin areas regularly for signs of redness, firmness, hardness or areas that won’t lighten when you push on them (called blanching). If that occurs, it’s a sign that underneath the skin, the wound may be developing. Consult with your doctor if that’s happening.

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The Importance of Skin Care

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Of all the caregiving responsibilities I do on a daily basis, the one I think that is most important is inspecting and caring for Lynn’s skin.  For most people, if they get a cut or a scratch or other skin irritation, it’s no big deal.  They get a little Neosporin ointment, slap a Band-Aid on it and go about their usual routine.  For someone who spends 20 out of 24 hours sitting in a chair, when I examine his buttock and find a skin tear, it’s definitely an “oh, no!” moment in my life.
Did you know that the skin is the largest organ in the body?  It has many purposes; protects us from nasties crawling into our body, warns of danger, regulates temperature, manages waste, and other things.  For skin to be healthy, diet, hydration, hygiene, and circulation are essential. If any of these are out of balance, the skin is not as able to defend itself.  With someone who has MS, and who spends a great deal of time in one position, Lynn’s greatest risk to skin breakdown is circulatory.  As gravity tends to pool blood into the lowest regions of his body, his greatest risk areas are his buttock and feet.  His buttock because the majority of his body weight is compressing the blood flow to his buttock as he sits and his fee because they are further away from the heart and his muscles in his legs are severely compromised. He uses an electronic peddler to keep his legs moving and circulation flowing better but his feet are secured to peddles with bandages so they will stay in place resulting in potential areas of friction.
His buttock is even more at risk. He sits on an air cushion all day which helps but that doesn’t totally remove the fact that this 195 pound man is putting the majority of that weight onto to a tail bone that has almost no fat on it anymore.  There is very little fat cushion remaining between the bone and skin so as moisture builds from body heat causing sweating,  and as his legs slightly move with the peddling motion or occasional shifting of his weight, friction occurs. If the skin is in good shape, it can withstand the movement and all is well.  If for any reason, his skin is inflamed due to too much pressure in an area, irritation from toileting, or the skin has become mottled then it’s more prone to sloughing or tearing.
If you see irritation or redness that doesn’t get better from just changing positions, that’s a signal to spring into action. Determine what’s causing the problem: too much moisture, not enough, resting on something too hard for too long, diet or hydration needs attention, etc.  If you don’t fix what caused the problem, then the condition will get worse or if you get it better, it will return.
To prevent issues with Lynn’s feet and legs, I use a lot of lotion on dry skin to keep cracks from developing.  I use pads like band aids or the pads you can find in foot care aisles for corns or calluses. I keep his nails cut short enough that the shoes won’t push the toes together and cause a scratch. Since his feet are usually strapped into the peddles of the peddler, I put pads on both heals, on the outer side of both feet just below the little toe, and a waterproof extra-large band aid over the top of his foot.  So far, he has not had any significant foot wounds.
His buttock is another matter.  I’ve been fortunate that I have always been able to get wounds there to heal but it takes a lot of diligence to do that and if I find I can’t see healing (new pink skin rather than enlarging of the area) on my own in two-three days, then I call the doctor.  My first action is to determine if I need more or less moisture to the area.  It’s nearly always less for that area.  Obviously bandaging is more difficult as most bandages are not designed to fit around the buttock area but to work on areas that are straight.  There is also the issue of being able to keep the bandage from getting soiled.  If it does, it needs to be changed so that the wound underneath doesn’t get contaminated. If you are therefore, going to change the bandage often, it’s important to use a non-stick covering.  If you use dry gauze, you’ll need ointment to keep it from sticking so you would not be able to eliminate moisture.  I like to use Telfa or other non-stick gauze pads and secure it with paper tape.  These products keep the new skin from tearing open when the bandage is removed.  If the wound needs something to dry it out and help it heal, I use Silveabsorb gel which usually helps.
If my efforts are not working, I call the doctor for an order.  If you can take a picture of the wound to send that will often help the doctor assess the situation without requiring an office visit, but you need to do a thorough job of telling the doctor what you have.
Here are some pointers on describing the wound:
continue reading at: http://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/importance-skin-care/

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When is a Nurse Not a Nurse? When she's a Family Caregiver.

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My first career in life was as a registered nurse.  I graduated in 1978 with a diploma in nursing and obtained my BS in 1980.  I was fortunate to have a position that allowed me to learn lots of new procedures that I would teach to others so I had exposure to all types of products, procedures, and knowledge.  Though I left nursing after my first child was born to begin a new career, I kept abreast with many of the changes. I even did home health care for a while as a second job.  I fully believe that God used those experiences to prepare me for my current role as a family caregiver.
We have had a home health nurse overseeing Lynn’s wound care for several weeks now.  I was telling her last week, that we really did not need her anymore because the pressure ulcer is nearly healed.  All I had needed her for anyway was a consultation to make sure I had the supplies I needed to care for the wound.  I could not get them as a family member but I could if I asked a home health nurse to get an order for them.
It’s been a bit frustrating at times being a nurse but unable to “be” a nurse as a family member.  When Lynn was in the hospital I assisted with all his care except managing machines.  I was unfamiliar with those so I either left them alone or had someone teach me how to manage those too (not something they would usually do).  I would do my own assessments of his body and vital signs and consult with the medical team regarding what they observed.  I still do that.
When I call in to the doctor, I have already taken vital signs, I give sizes and descriptions of skin breakdown, I describe sounds or smells that indicate problems, I have “home” kits that I use to determine if infections are developing.  I do all these things and his doctor’s trust that I know when something is wrong and they listen to my recommendations.  I am truly part of his care team.  However, because I am the spouse, I cannot “order” supplies except through home health.  I cannot get reimbursed for care provided such as wound care because I’m the spouse.  The home health nurses have not once done his wound care.  I do it.  I tell them what I’m using, what I think is going on, how it’s healing, what supplies I need, and they go along with what I say.
Not so with insurance companies.
If there is a family relationship, you lose all credibility with them.  I get “stripped” of my license when I try to justify care needs.  So I’ve learned to get what I need by getting an order for home health (which is a waste of money for the insurance company since I could easily do this without them paying for a home visit). Just another problem that exists in our health care reimbursement system.
…Just like not paying for preventive care….don’t get me started on that!
There’s another time when a nurse is not a nurse when she’s a family caregiver; that’s when she tries to tell her spouse what to do.  I have so many times told Lynn he was developing a “condition” of some sort.  I would warn him that he needed to go to the doctor to get such and such.  However, he won’t go until the situation is so bad he’s in pain or can see for himself that it won’t heal alone.  I get no credit for what I know.  Yes, I’ve “told him so” a few times now and he even admits that he needs to listen to me but there’s something in his ego that just won’t let him take directions from me.
I also realize that as a family caregiver, I’ve become his enabler.  I realize that he would probably have more “abilities” to care for himself if I was not here to do so much for him. When he’s tired, he just won’t “do” for himself. He calls me.  If he was in a facility or had someone who was not family caring for him, he would likely have to do it himself or not get it done. He would not be happy and he might have long waits, but I often wonder if I’ve done him harm by always being there to help.  On the other hand, I know that if I had not been there to watch over him, he most likely would have not lived to this point because I have caught and/or prevented so many medical issues for him before they became serious.
So, my medical background is a true blessing from God.  He’s provided me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to care for the husband He gave me.  Though He has not led me to “be” a nurse, He has led me to “be” His healing hands for Lynn.  For that I am very grateful and we are both truly blessed.

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Oh, no. Is that a skin tear?

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For most of us, if we get a cut or scrape or even a deeper laceration, we start to heal immediately and in a few days or weeks, it’s much improved.  Skin has miraculous healing powers.  Immediately after a cut, the body clots the bleeding, sends white cells and special chemicals to the site to fight off infection and within hours new cells start replacing those that were lost.  It’s awesome how God created such an amazing process for regeneration within our own bodies that takes place day after day.
When everything in the body is working properly, skin breakdown is not big deal, but that’s not always the case with an MS patient.   For one thing, MS is an auto-immune condition meaning the body already has it out for itself. Therefore, it’s NOT working properly much of the time.  Then, if there are mobility issues, the circulation to areas that do not move as well is often impaired and that slows down wound healing, too.  On top of that, if you’re taking an interferon like Rebif, then you could suffer from a decrease in the production of replacement cells.  And on top of that if you’re on steroids, your wound healing is REALLY impaired.  So getting a skin tear is a big deal with a wheelchair-bound basically immobile individual.
That being the case, when I give Lynn a bath, I really try to check out his skin and keep a watch on any cuts or scrapes that might be present.  He gets a lot of skinned elbows because he doesn’t pull in his arms as he should when rounding a corner going into a room(and no, he won’t wear elbow pads, I’ve tried).  Usually those heal pretty well because he moves his arms a bit more than his legs.
My greatest worry though are open wounds on his buttocks.  He has two almost pin-head size openings on his buttock near his coccyx.  Not a good place to have one. He can’t sleep in a bed right now because his legs are so uncomfortable so he sits in his wheelchair probably 22-23 hours a day–that’s a lot of time sitting on one part of the body; plus he doesn’t move his core very much.  He can’t really reposition himself in his chair other than to tilt his chair backward so he can slide backward.  Therefore, to get a wound on his coccyx area is a big deal. It’s a risk all the time for more shearing with movement and the pressure makes circulation to the area less. 
He has had buttock wounds before and I’ve tried various types of skin barriers and patches to treat them. Often the patches, even though designed for wounds, tend to tear the skin in other places when they are removed due to the adhesive. I’ve had small areas the size of pin-heads enlarge in a week to wounds the size of a quarter due to removal of bandages or dressings. It’s very discouraging and something to watch very carefully.
I know from when I was working as a nurse that patients who do not manage skin wounds well can die just from the horrible wounds and infections that develop over time.  I also know that at times the layers of tissue under what appears to be a scab are often continuing to deteriorate.  Wound care is very complex.  If the person you’re caring for gets a wound that keeps getting bigger rather than smaller and isn’t in time, showing the nice pink edges of healing, or if the wound starts to smell or drain a lot, see a doctor or wound specialist pronto.  Skin wounds are nothing to ignore.  Take them seriously and don’t wait, too, long to have someone who knows how to treat them properly  take a look.  If you don’t, the results can be tragic.

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