Venous ulcers are a type of wound that most often appears in the legs, especially in the ankle, from venous insufficiency, resulting in a buildup of blood and rupture of the veins and, consequently, the appearance of sores that hurt and do not heal, in addition to swelling of the leg and darkening of the skin.See the main symptoms of poor circulation.
The presence of venous ulcers, although not fatal, can cause great discomfort and even disability, mainly affecting the quality of life of the person, being this type of ulcer more frequent in the elderly or people who have several systemic problems that can interfere with blood circulation or the healing process.
- Treatment of venous ulcers is done in accordance with medical advice and is usually done with the use of compression stockings.
- Which stimulate local circulation.
- And with the use of ointments that facilitate healing.
Venous ulcers are a chronic sore, more common in the ankle, characterized by being an injury that does not heal easily and that initially has irregular and superficial edges, however, with the progression of the injury, the ulcer can eventually become deep and with well-defined edges, and a yellowish liquid can still come out.
Other features of venous ulcers include
Diagnosis is made from the assessment of the characteristics of the ulcer, such as location, size, depth, edges, presence of fluid and swelling of the area, in addition, the doctor checks the thickening, darkening of the skin and inflammation.
Treatment of venous ulcers should be done with medical recommendation and is intended to prevent the appearance of new ulcers, relieve pain, prevent infections, improve venous circulation and facilitate healing of the ulcer already present.
One of the options for treating venous ulcers is compressive therapy, which involves the use of compressive means to stimulate local circulation, reduce swelling and the risk of new wounds as it stimulates micro and macrocirculation.The use of graduated media should be prescribed by the vascular doctor.and they can be of various types, so it’s also important to identify factors that may be related to the change in circulation, so your doctor can establish treatment for the cause.
In addition, it is important to clean the wound to prevent infections, which can aggravate the ulcer causing tissue necrosis, cleaning should be done with a 0.9% saline solution that does not interfere with the healing process, does not cause allergic skin reactions and does not alter the normal microbiota of the skin.After cleaning, it is recommended to make a dressing with hydrogel, alginates, papain or colagenase, as medically indicated, which are substances that have the ability to remove dead tissue and facilitate healing.
It is also important to move the leg, through steps or physiotherapy exercises, to activate local circulation and reduce blood congestion, thus avoiding the formation of new ulcers and recurrence.If there is a bacterial infection in the wound, your doctor may also indicate use of microorganism-based antibiotics in your wound.
In hard-to-heal lesions, which have not healed with compressive therapies and bandages, or when they are very large ulcers, surgery in which a skin graft is placed in the area of the ulcer, where it is removed, may be indicated.a piece of tissue from another part of the body and placed where the ulcer is, facilitating healing.