Caring for Foot Wounds at Home with Prescription Wound Care Products

If you’re reading this, you likely already know how serious a slow-healing or chronic foot wound can be, which is why we jump straight to advanced wound care as our front-line care.

Each year in the United States, about 1.6 million diabetic foot ulcers develop and half of these will become infected. And these numbers don't include chronic wounds in people with peripheral artery disease (PAD), which affects 1 in 20 people over the age of 50.

While Dr. Thomas Rambacher and the team here at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County work vigilantly on your foot, ankle, or leg wound care in our office, what you do at home is equally as important.

To ensure that your diabetic foot ulcer or chronic lower limb wound has round-the-clock care, Dr. Rambacher makes sure that you have the right tools at home with prescription wound care products, which we review here.

Dressing your wound

There’s a lot to consider when we deal with a foot ulcer or chronic wound and each level of protection needs to be up to the job. So, starting on the outside, this means having a dressing that best supports and protects your wound.

For wounds that aren’t healing well, we might recommend using one of more of the following dressings:

Foam dressings 

These dressings create a moist healing environment and they also absorb fluids well and minimize discomfort as the contact area of a foam dressing is non-adherent and non-linting.

Microbial dressings

As the name suggests, these are specialized dressings that contain agents that fight off infection.

Hydrocolloid dressings

These dressings create a moist environment inside, as well as a waterproof barrier that protects against bacteria.

Honey dressings

These medical-grade dressings contain a special kind of honey that fights off bacteria while keeping the wound moist.

Wound care products

Before the dressing goes on, we might want you to apply prescription wound care products to your diabetic foot ulcer or slow-healing wound.

These products go far beyond over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotic ointments as they target the unique issues that come with slow-healing foot wounds.

As an example, we often provide clients with Santyl® ointment, which is approved by the FDA to remove dead tissue from your foot wound. This is important for creating a cleaner environment around the wound that encourages healing and discourages infection.

We might also have you use a regenerative wound care product at home called Regranex®. This prescription medication contains platelet-derived growth factors that help promote healing by signaling for resources that better control inflammation, as well as encourage cell proliferation and blood vessel development.

While it’s tough to say here what at-home care we might recommend for you, rest assured that Dr. Rambacher and our team explain your wound care in great detail before we send you home. And, should you have any questions, we’re just a phone call away.

If you’d like to learn more about caring for your wounds at home with prescription wound care products, please contact our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or by requesting an appointment online today.