How should we be taking care of wounds? They happen all the time. They happen to dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs and even us. Well, in the last 10-12 years we have done a lot of research on wound management, and the old ideas and treatments are going by the wayside.
Several years ago the human side said wet to dry bandages worked great, but every time you removed the bandage, you would tear out the scab and the wound would have to start healing all over again. As wounds start healing over and over, proud flesh, or scar tissue is formed. Now, some scar tissues are inevitable, but why not keep it to a minimum?
Personally, I like the wet to wet bandages. These bandages are soaked with saline and applied daily after cleansing the wound with a gentle wound cleanser that will NOT destroy the microscopic healing taking place inside the wound. I will also use a garden hose and just water to cleanse a wound. But, after using the water and hose, I will always apply a gentle wound cleanser for the disinfection power.
Wounds start healing by sending out microscopic capillaries and a fibrin network. Then platelets fill in the gaps and start the healing process. When you pull off scabs or dry out a wound it will slow this process. By keeping the wounds moist it will promote this healing process and accelerate it.
When I first see a wound I like to surgically scrub them up. Then I debride them so I can have good, clean surfaces to start healing. Then I will apply a gentle cleanser and appropriate topical treatment. If bandaged they will be moist, (generally mini pads or heavy Kotex soaked in saline and coated with an Aloe Wound gel). These wraps must be changed generally daily to keep the moistness to the wound. The body is made of saline, that is why I choose saline. Then I will put the animal on systemic antibiotics and give them tetanus prophylaxis if the species requires it like a horse, goat or sheep.
Most people think peroxide is the best thing to put on a wound. Well, the only time I use peroxide is when I have maggots in a wound. Peroxide will help boil out the maggots by robbing oxygen from them. Peroxide actually only oxidizes tissue, destroys microscopic healing and will only disinfect one cell deep. I want a cleaner wound than one cell deep, and I do not want to destroy microscopic healing. Please, leave the peroxide for cleaning blood out of your clothes or off of other things, this is where it works best, unless you have maggots in the wounds.
If you want to clean a wound, just use a garden hose and water with soap the first time. From then on only use the gentle cleansers.
Dr. Tim O’Neill owns Country Veterinary Clinic in Farmington, Ark.
