How long should you apply wound care ointment before you need to apply it

In fact, there is no unified "maximum period of use". Most ordinary superficial wounds can be stopped after 3 to 7 days of application, and the longest period will not exceed 2 weeks. In special circumstances, adjustments should be made according to the doctor's advice.

I usually play outdoors and deal with a lot of bruises. I have also talked about this problem with the general practitioner of social health. There are indeed two common opinions: one is to stop as soon as the scabs form. The nursing ointment is originally used for the wound stage of ulceration and exudation. Its function is to isolate external bacteria and maintain appropriateness. A moist environment promotes healing. Once a wound has a complete scab and there is no redness, swelling or tenderness around it, direct exposure to a dry environment is more conducive to the scab falling off. Another suggestion is to apply it thinly until the scab falls off naturally to avoid the scab being too dry, cracking and causing bleeding, and can also reduce the probability of pigmentation to a certain extent.

Last month when I was leading a hiking group on a field trip, a young man received a two-centimeter shallow gash on his ankle from a thorny branch. After the emergency debridement, he applied a thin layer of basic wound care ointment twice a day when he returned home. On the fifth day, a hard scab formed on the wound, and there was no pain when he pressed it.

Of course, there are situations where it is necessary to extend the use time, such as superficial second-degree scald wounds, or wounds caused by people with diabetes or poor circulation in the lower limbs. The healing speed itself is slow, so the use time of the care ointment must follow the healing progress. It may take more than ten days or even longer. In this case, just follow the doctor's arrangements. Don't stop or apply more amounts randomly.

Don’t confuse ordinary wound care creams and scar creams here. Many people say that they need to be applied continuously for several months. In fact, they used a special silicone scar cream at that time, which was aimed at the proliferation and pigmentation problems after the wound has fully grown. It is not the same as the anti-infection and healing care cream used in the initial stage of injury. The stages of action are completely different.

If you find that the area around the wound suddenly becomes red, itchy, and develops a small rash while applying the care ointment, stop immediately regardless of whether you have used it for the preset time. It is probably because the newly grown delicate skin has been suffocated and is causing contact dermatitis. Breathing the skin is better than anything else.