IntroductionUnfortunately, wounds are all too common on outdoor trips, with abrasions and full-thickness lacerations leading the list; that said, deeper wounds are not unheard of. The goal of wound care is to prevent infection and promote healing. Expedition settings bring challenges to wound management that are relatively rare in an urban environment and require a deeper understanding of the healing process and available dressing technology. Patients with a high risk for infection, especially with damage to tendons, ligaments, joints, or bones, should be evacuated for physician assessment and treatment. Clean wounds without damage to underlying structures can often be treated in the field with the right materials and constant monitoring.
The Healing Process
The wound healing process has five continuous and overlapping phases:
Individual characteristics that inhibit healing include:
Wound attributes that inhibit healing include:
Dressings
Characteristics of Ideal Expedition Dressings
Dressing Options
Six categories of wound dressings are discussed below. Recommendations are based on the ideal characteristics discussed above for healthy individuals with no local or systemic wound infection. Infected wounds and those slow to heal should be evacuated for assessment and treatment by a physician or wound care specialist.
Antimicrobials
Recommendations for antimicrobials used in treating wounds are for healthy individuals and designed to prevent a local or systemic wound infection. Infected wounds and those slow to heal should be evacuated for assessment and treatment by a physician or wound care specialist.
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