Give your wound enough care, they kill

HEALTH 

For over two months, Shakira Mudondo's daughter could neither walk nor associate freely with other young children.

This was because of the big wound on her left leg; she got from a burning charcoal stove.

"My daughter used to play with her friends all the time, at times, she could carry a water bottle and a spare piece of cloth, which she used to clean up in a case she soiled the wound. But the smell of the wound would keep people away from her", Mudondo narrates.

My daughter felt she had become an outcast to the neighbours and friends. Sometimes the wound could attract flies.

Mudondo 27, a housewife in Mayuge town says in her village they treat a wound by warming it with hot water and then applying capsules daily.

At first, the wounds got cured but the scars pained her too much. Like residents of Mudondo's village, large numbers of people around the country open up antibiotic capsules and pour the powder on wounds.

The main dangers associated with wounds are bleeding and infections.

Bleeding is among the leading killers in the world and should be dealt with as soon as possible when it occurs.

However, Dr Hassan Mayanja based in Kampala says this is wrong. It only delays wound healing.

Mayanja says wound infections are caused by dirt and any contaminated material that might get in contact with the wound.

He says if the skin around a wound swells or produces pus and becomes more painful, then an infection may be present.  One should seek medical care immediately. 

If you have diabetes or other long-term illnesses such as cancer or you are taking drugs that suppress the immune system such as steroids (cortisone, prednisolone) you are more likely to develop a wound infection.

Dr Aisha Akello a physician says treatment of wounds depends on what caused it and how deep the wound is.

It is unfortunate, she says, that many people still put things like sand, paraffin and capsules on their wounds.

"Where there is no health personnel or medication, at least wash the wound with clean, warm water plus salt instead of applying things that can infect the wound", says Akello.

The commonest wounds are traumatic or septic wounds mainly from accidents, cuts and bruises. With any wound, quick attendance is vital.

Washing is a good first aid, but later on the victim needs to go to a health centre for proper treatment or apply iodine or cover the wound with medicated plaster in case of home treatment.

However, one is advised to get a tetanus vaccine immediately you are afflicted by a wound. This is more applicable for people who have not had a tetanus vaccination in five years.

She says many people have died of tetanus after getting it through wounds, yet their death could have been prevented by vaccination.

Tetanus death normally occurs about three weeks after the injury that caused it. By this time, the wound itself might have healed.

It is also advisable that once you get stiff neck (tetanus) you will have to die because it cannot be treated in Uganda.

To control bleeding, you have to cover the wound with a clean cloth and tie it before you rush to the hospital.

Mayanja says bigger wounds have to be stitched; otherwise they take long to heal. Stitching also eliminates the risk of having a big scars on your skin after healing and most of these scars look bad.