Treatment Of Chronic Wounds

14.5 TREATMENT OF Chronic Wounds 1. Shave around the wound and clean it. Remove all dead tissue, pus and maggots or screwworms. (See disinfectants and antiseptics.)

 Remove all worms: A wound will not heal if it contains maggots or screwworms. Therefore, to remove them, phenol/camphor (mothballs) can be crushed and mixed with water, and then poured in the hole where the worm has entered. Although the mothballs do not dissolve very well in water, they work well anyway and are often locally available. Chloroform, kerosene, spirit, and turpentine also work.

 Remove all debris and establish good drainage: It may be necessary to soak the wound or use hot compresses for several days to decrease swelling, soften the tissue, remove old, dead tissue/debris, and open the wound to establish good drainage. If the wound is already draining pus, insert a piece of cloth soaked with antiseptic to keep the wound open and draining for a few days.

1. Never try to suture a chronic wound. Leave it open to drain and then heal.

1. Once the drainage has stopped, apply antibiotic ointment, powder, or spray to protect against infection.

1. Apply ointment, powder or spray to protect against maggots or screwworms.

1. If the wound seems to be infected, give an antibiotic injection like long-acting penicillin.

1. Provide good supportive care. That is, keep the animal in a clean, dry environment away from other animals, and provide high quality food and clean, fresh water. If the animal appears to be in a lot of pain, give it a painkiller medication.

If at any time a thick scab forms and the wound appears inflamed, red or sore at the edges, there may be an infection. To check this, pull off a corner of the scab and apply gentle pressure to the wound (but be careful to prevent injury if the animal reacts to the pain). If pus oozes out from under the scab, gently remove the entire scab and clean the wound thoroughly. If it appears that the wound may need to drain for a few days, insert a piece of cloth soaked with antiseptic to keep the wound open and draining. Once the wound has adequately drained, apply antibiotic cream. Check, and clean the wound daily until it begins to heal properly.