Performing simple wound care for yourself or a friend or relative may become a new challenge for you. Do you know how?
Today more and more simple medical procedures are being performed on an outpatient basis. Additionally, patients are released from the hospital as soon as is humanly possible to minimize health care costs and to improve patient outcomes.
As a result, simple wound care and dressing changes are becoming common place in the home setting. Patients, family members and friends are being expected to assume responsibility for changing dressings.
A couple of important things to remember are to protect yourself as well as the patient. Wash your hands before and after, and wear gloves.
Non-sterile gloves are available even in grocery stores. Your loved one or best friend may not have something like AIDS or HIV, but there could be germs brewing in the wound that won't surface for awhile. You also want to exercise standard precautions to prevent infection or contamination to the wound.
Don't assume that wearing gloves means you don't have to wash your hands. Always wash your hands before and after any dressing change.
