Skin Integrity & Wound Care Flashcards
This is the largest organ of the body and protects the body from injury =
Skin
How do you assess a wound using your senses?
Sight:
Assess Location + Size Shape + Color + Exudate + Bleeding Necrosis
Feel:
Textural Changes
Smell:
Can tell about the presence of infectious organisms
What are all of the important things to assess about a wound?
Location
Measure length, width, and depth in centimeters
Any odor?
Describe drainage
Stage the ulcer
Describe surrounding tissue
Undermining or sinus tracts?
Describe wound bed tissue
Any clinical signs of infection?
What is Serous Exudate like?
Clear, Watery Serum
What is Purulent Exudate like?
Thick Yellow, Green, Tan, or Brown
What is Sanguineous Exudate like?
Bright Red
What is Serosanguineous Exudate like?
Pale, Red, Watery
What is Purosanguineous Exudate like?
Pus & Blood
What do you do for a Red wound?
Protect & Cover
What do you do for a Yellow wound?
Cleanse
What do you do for a Black wound?
Debride
What does the color of an open wound determine?
It determines the treatment
What do you do if there is more than one color present on a wound?
Treat the most serious first. Black, then Yellow, then Red.
Does the depth or size determine what kind’ve treatment you’d give for a wound?
No, just the color
Most common site for pressure ulcers =
Sacral Area
What is a Pressure Ulcer?
Localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue, caused by force or a combination of force and movement over bony prominences
Most Pressure Ulcers are-
Preventable + Heal by secondary intention
How many recognized stages of Pressure Ulcers are there?
4
How do Stage 3 and Stage 4 Pressure Ulcers heal?
By filling in with scar tissue (Not new dermis and subcutaneous tissue)
What is Granulation?
Scar Tissue
A stage 4 Pressure Ulcer is healing nicely. Can it be downgraded to a Grade 3 after a month passes?
No, Pressure Ulcers can not be downgraded
As a Stage 4 Pressure Ulcer heals, what should it be referred to as?
A healing / healed Stage 4 Pressure Ulcer (Because they can’t be downgraded)
What is a Stage 1 Pressure Ulcer like?
No tissue loss, but non-blanchable red skin over a bony prominence
Pressure ulcer with a loss of Epidermis tissue and possibly Dermis tissue =
Stage 2 Pressure Ulcer
Pressure ulcer with a loss of Epidermis, Dermis, and Hypodermis Tissue =
Stage 3 Pressure Ulcer
Full-thickness skin loss involving muscle, bone, or other supporting structures such as tendons or joint capsules. Undermining and sinus tracts may be present also =
Stage 4 Pressure Ulcer
Subcutaneous Tissue is the same thing as-
Hypodermis Tissue
A stage 2 pressure ulcer may be present as-
An Abrasion, a Blister, or a Very Shallow Crater
You have a pt with a pressure ulcer that you can’t visually see the wound bed and the depth is unknown. What would you call this pressure ulcer?
An Unstageable Pressure Ulcer
What can make a Pressure Ulcer Unstageable?
Full thickness tissue loss in which the base of the ulcer is covered by slough and/or eschar on the wound bed
What is Slough?
Yellow, Tan, Gray, Green, or Brown (Dead Tissue)
What is Eschar?
Tan, Brown, or Black (Dead Tissue)