Wound Care Resources

Approximately five million Americans suffer from chronic open sores that can become seriously infected, gangrenous, and in some cases require amputation. This is often due to limited blood flow which can slow the body's own healing process. Many patients seek professional help for wounds that have not healed after months of standard wound treatment. In the majority of patients, treatment programs produce complete healing, usually with a few months.

Articles of Interest

• Understanding The Link Between Nutrition And Wound Healing
• How To Diagnose And Treat Foreign Body Injuries
• How To Diagnose And Treat Pressure Ulcers

Reading Suggestions:

• Wound Care Essentials: Practice Principles
• Wounds And Lacerations: Emergency Care And Closure
• Wound Care: Clincal Guide
• Acute & Chronic Wounds: Nursing Management
• Nursing 2011 Drug Handbook
• Pressure Ulcers: Guidelines for Prevention and Management
• Urinary & Fecal Incontinence: Nursing Management
• Color Guide to the Nursing Management of Chronic Wounds
• The Ostomy Book: Living Comfortably With Colostomies, Ileostomies, and Urostomies
• Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Secrets (The Secrets Series)

Sites & Resources

• Accu-Ruler-Designed by nurses, for nurses and other medical professionals. Accu-Ruler is the only wound measurement device approved by ALSNA (American Long Term and Subacute Nurses Association).
• American Academy of Wound Management-A national multidisciplinary certifying board for healthcare professionals involved in wound care. Board certification is available to physicians, nurses.....and others.
• Association for the Advancement of Wound Care- Provides forums for fostering excellence in clinical practice, education, research, and public policy initiatives related to the care of patients with wounds or who have wounds.
• Center For Locomotion Studies-Clearinghouse of information on the diabetic foot and locomotion. A favorite Web site for directing patients to information on the diabetic foot.
• Chronic Wound Healing-An online tutorial in assessing, debriding, cleaning, & caring for pressure ulcers. Includes Nutrition info, wet dressing info, and graphic descriptive photos.
• ConvaTec- Valuable information on ostomy, wound and skin care.
• Foot & Ankle Institute- Wound Care. Appropriate Wound Dressing. Wound Debridement. Printable foot care patient education information, diabetic foot center offers case studies as well as patient education info.
• How The Body Heals- This publication clearly educates-informers the medical professional and consumer on how the body's natural healing processes actually work in easy to understand language. Can be ordered for free from WoundHEAL.com.
• National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel-Provides multidisciplinary leadership for improved patient outcomes in pressure ulcer prevention and management through Education, Public Policy, & Research. Site provides information about educational conferences, products, research & grants.
• Ostomy Wound Management Online- The official journal of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, offers online articles, cme & ce credits, and other reports to stimulate research and foster enhanced wound-healing outcomes.
• Pressure Ulcer Healing Chart & PUSH Tool 3.0-Printable quick, reliable tools to monitor the change in pressure ulcer status over time: Staging, Healing Chart, Graph & Instructions. [Source: National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel].
• Proper Documentation Of Pressure Ulcers-Proper documentation is necessary for medical, legal and reimbursement reasons, this excellent guide to how & what to chart about pressure ulcers will help you do it well.
• Taking Care of Pressure Sores-Excellent guide to stages of pressure sores and how to care for them as well as very useful information for patients.
• Wounds1.com-Wound care related site with interactive wound assessment guide, wound news, pressure ulcer and burn resource centers.
• Wound Care Meetings & Conferences-Calendar of events & conferences, contact information, educational resources.
• World Wide Wounds-An Internet-only electronic woundcare journal. Extremely useful resource for dressing materials and practical wound management information broken down by presenting problem area.
• Wound Care Information Network-Information on patients support groups, wound care jobs, how wounds heal, proper documentation of ulcers, AHCPR Pressure Ulcer Treatment Guidelines, information on wound care products and supplies.
• WoundCareJobs.com- A global resource for job seekers who wish to advance their careers within the wound and skin care industry.
• Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society -Consultant registry for nurses interested in doing consultation, terrific articles, lots of resources, legislative updates & activism, certification review. Highly recommend this site.