Research and Describe Skin Wounds: Colonization, Infection

Skin Wounds
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Skin Wounds
There are quite a number of diagnosing a wound on the skin (Burr, 2012). In the case of the elderly, one has to make sure that take into consideration the fact that the integrity of the skin is not comparable to that of young and healthy persons. As such, one has to be more keen at establishing the kind of wound that the patient is suffering from and the causes for the same (Holroyd-Leduc & Reddy, 2012). This will in turn inform the treatment plans the decision to arrive at the same. Some of the most accurate ways of diagnosing wounds is through the use of x-rays. Fluoroscopy is also an important diagnosis method as it helps with the identification of any foreign bodies as well, while the use of ultrasound is crucial for the same. These are techniques that go beyond the physical examination carried out by the medical teams. Using the equipment, the medical practitioners are able to give a rather refined diagnosis to the elderly.
They also help the medical teams to establish if the wound has colonization or it is an infection. Ideally, in the case of an infection, the patient is going to have a wound that has germs that make them sick. This help with the establishment or whether the patient has also experienced broken bones or if there are foreign objects lounged in the wound. This means that they are going to display sign and symptoms such as fever, pus, pneumonia, and a high count of white blood cells. In the case of a colonization, the wound will have germs but in this case they will not cause the patient to be sick or exhibit signs and symptoms as indicated under infections; thus the patient feels and seems fine.
For the elderly, skin conditions can be quite rampant and one of the most common cases is associated with the varicella zoster virus (VZV). This is a virus that causes the skin ailment referred to as shingles, also commonly referred to as Herpes zoster. When the virus is activated in the dorsal ganglia, it can migrate to the sensory dermatomes in the adjacent cells (Burr, 2012). This then causes a rash to develop and it is usually painful for the patients. One of the most crucial aspects ...