Massive bleeding, often known as a haemorrhage, is one of the biggest dangers associated with an acute injury. Both military and civilian losses are primarily attributable to it. The main causes of these deaths are listed as inadequate pre-hospital care and uncontrolled bleeding from the wound site. Over 30% of traumatic deaths on the battlefield, in hospitals, and in other emergency circumstances are due to uncontrolled haemorrhage, with pre-hospital death accounting for 50% of these cases.
It has also been discovered that bleeding accounts for 50% of military fatalities. Infections, hypothermia, hypotension, multiple organ failure, haemorrhagic shock, and other serious complications can all result from excessive bleeding. Therefore, appropriate care of wounds is necessary in order to reduce casualties. This eventually makes vulnerology a crucial aspect of wound healing.
Of healing & recovery
Since the body repairs damaged tissue through wound healing, it is essential to the recovery of a person. When a wound develops, the body reacts right away to stop the bleeding and stop infection. However, if a wound is not properly cleaned and bandaged, it could bleed again and cause a casualty in a number of situations. Infection, scarring, and chronic wounds are just a few of the complications that can result from delayed wound healing. Bacteria can enter the wound site and cause infection, which if untreated can spread to nearby tissues and organs. When the body makes too much collagen during the healing process, scarring can happen, leaving a thick, raised scar.
Thus, the requirement is to create such an environment that would help in the speedy recovery of the wound. However, there can be a myriad of factors contributing to the delay in the process of recovery.
Factors delaying recovery process
The healing of wounds can be impeded by a number of factors. Age is one of them, as the body’s capacity to heal itself declines with age. The body needs essential nutrients like protein, vitamin C, and zinc to repair and replace tissue, so nutrition is an important factor as well. The healing process can also be impacted by underlying medical conditions like diabetes or immune system problems. About 25% of people with diabetes mellitus are thought to have impaired wound healing, which frequently necessitates lower limb amputation and has significant financial and psychological consequences.
Infection, poor circulation, smoking, stress, obesity, and other factors can also hinder the healing of wounds. To encourage optimal wound healing and avoid complications, it is crucial to address these factors. Most of the time, the wound heals properly. However, in an emergency, it might be necessary to apply external dressings that could speed wound healing. When hemostatishemostasis fails to stop bleeding, hemostatic wound dressing can be an essential tool for trauma care. It has a number of benefits that would not only reduce the risk of bleeding but also hasten the healing of the wound.
Healing with hemostatic dressing
One of the main causes of traumatic mortality is uncontrolled bleeding. In order to reduce haemorrhage and lower the mortality rate in pre-hospital care, extremely effective solutions are crucial. Furthermore, in order to expedite wound healing, which is a difficult and ongoing process influenced by many variables, the right environment is also required. Today, effective solutions are readily available in terms of high-performance hemostatic dressings, thanks to technological and
biomedical advancements that cater to the specific needs of individuals.
Hemostatic dressing can help stop bleeding by forming a clot at the location of the cut. When a dressing comes into contact with a wound, it absorbs any liquid or plasma because it is made with ingredients that have an affinity for blood. Platelets are then idle to form a clot, decreasing bleeding or the possibility of rebleeding. This leaves behind a combination of platelets that functions as a physical barrier to stop excessive bleeding.
(The author is a senior scientist with a deep-science medical technology company.)