Wounds are injuries to tissue or organs that occur when an outside source damages your body. Wounds to your skin come in a wide variety of forms, including punctures, scrapes, bruises and burns. Depending on individual circumstances, the severity of these skin wounds can range from minor annoyances to life-threatening medical emergencies.
The Basics
Although wounds can affect any organ, in most cases they involve your skin, which is designed to protect your body from external dangers, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC. In addition to the forms of injury listed above, they include lacerations, which result in irregular, jagged cuts; incisions, which feature clean cuts; contusions, which can cause damage without actually breaking your skin's surface; and damage triggered by diabetic ulcers and other forms of skin ulcers.
Wound Factors
Typically, you will experience skin wounds as a result of an accidental injury, the UMMC reports. Potential sources here include physical trauma, various types of burns and exposure to extremely cold temperatures. You may also experience intentional skin wounds during surgery or undergo procedures with known skin injury risks such as radiation therapy. Potential underlying risks for developing a wound include general poor health, advanced age, malnutrition, obesity, vitamin deficiencies, steroid use, smoking and the presence of diabetes.
Cuts and Punctures
Lacerations, incisions and punctures cause openings or breaks in your skin and frequently result in additional damage to underlying structures such as ligaments, tendons, nerves, muscles, bone and blood vessels, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus. Common symptoms of these wounds include pain, bleeding and altered body function near the site of the wound. In many cases, you can treat minor forms of these injuries at home with methods such as direct pressure at the wound site and use of antibacterial cleansers or ointments. However, wounds that bleed severely, contain embedded material or expose underlying structures require prompt medical attention.
Burns
Burns to your skin can vary significantly in severity, Medline Plus reports. If you experience a first-degree burn, you will only have damage in the outermost layer of your skin, with symptoms that include redness, swelling and pain. Second-degree burns affect this outer layer and the layer beneath it, and typically produce significant skin blistering. Third-degree burns involve your outer layers of skin and deeper tissues, and cause skin charring that can lead to extensive nerve damage. While you can treat minor burns at home, you should seek immediate medical attention if a burn is severe or you cannot reliably gauge the severity of your injury.
Infections
Wounds to your skin can result in various forms of infection, according to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry's Lab Tests Online. Potential sources of infection include bacteria, fungi and viruses. Infection symptoms may include skin warmth, tenderness, redness, swelling or an infection-related fluid called pus. In some cases, minor infections may clear without treatment. However, you may require treatment with methods that include wound drainage and use of topical or oral antibiotics.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Wounds
- Medline Plus: U.S. National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health: Cuts and Puncture Wounds
- Medline Plus: U.S. National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health: Burns
- Lab Tests Online: Wound and Skin Infections (Pages 2,3 and 5)
