General information
A wound healing disorder is generally understood to be the slowed, untypical process of natural wound healing. There are a variety of reasons why someone may develop a wound healing disorder: Both individual characteristics or diseases and external factors, such as the incorrect care of a wound, can lead to wound healing disorders. The healing of a wound is a complex process.
In order for a wound to heal at normal speed and correctly, various processes in the body must run properly and interlock: A large number of different cells and signal substances and a supply of sufficient nutrients via the blood are necessary so that the injured tissue can finally be replaced and the wound closed. As soon as any part of this system is disturbed, a wound healing disorder can develop. In principle, older people have a higher risk of wound healing disorder than younger people.
This is due to the fact that with age the blood circulation of the skin decreases and the efficiency of the immune system is lower. A weakened immune system is also general, no matter whether it is caused by certain diseases (tumors or chronic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis or HIV) or drugs (cortisone), always favors the development of a wound healing disorder. In addition to medications that affect the immune system, there are also medications that have a direct negative effect on the healing ability of wounds.
These include anticoagulants (e.g. heparin) or cytostatic drugs (various chemotherapeutic agents). There are many diseases that make the occurrence of a wound healing disorder more likely: Anemia, peripheral circulation disorders, diabetes mellitus, venous insufficiency (varicose veins) Almost all of them do this mainly by causing poor oxygen supply in the tissue, which slows down wound healing. Through the same mechanism, the consumption of nicotine (when smoking cigarettes) also has a negative effect on wound healing.
A common reason for wound healing disorders is also a poor nutritional condition. In the case of malnutrition, i.e. when the body lacks carbohydrates, fats, proteins, trace elements, minerals or vitamins, the damaged tissue cannot be adequately supplied with nutrients. (In addition, there are certain properties of the wound itself that predispose to a wound healing disorder. These include large, dirty and bruised wounds, bruising or other accumulations of fluid (seroma) in the area of the wound, failure to immobilise the wound or premature removal of the sutures from a surgically created wound, tension (when the surgeon has sutured with too much tension) or the edges of the wound have become uneven.
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