Discharge Instructions: Caring for Your Wound

Getting ready

• Put pets and children in another room, away from your work area.

• Wash your hands before touching any of your supplies:

  • Turn on the water.

  • Wet your hands and wrists.

  • Use liquid soap from a pump dispenser. Work up a lather.

  • Scrub your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

  • Rinse your hands with your fingers pointing toward the drain.

  • Dry your hands with a clean cloth or paper towel. Use this towel to turn off the faucet.

  • Remember, once you have washed your hands, don’t touch anything other than your supplies. Wash your hands again if you touch anything, like furniture or your clothes.

• Clean your work area:

  • Clean washable surfaces with soap and water, and dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.

  • Wipe surfaces that are not washable (like fabric or wood) so that they are free of dust. Spread a clean cloth or paper towel over your work surface.

  • Move away from the clean surface, if you need to cough or sneeze.

• Gather your bandage supplies:

  • Gauze dressing or other bandage material

  • Medical tape

  • Disposable gloves

• Wash your hands again.

Dressing the wound

• Remove the old dressing:

  • Put on disposable gloves.

  • Pull gently toward the wound to loosen the tape.

  • One layer at a time, gently remove the dressing.

  • If you have a drain or tube, be careful not to pull on it.

  • Look at the dressing. Make sure that you are seeing a decreasing amount of blood, and that the blood is turning into a clear, amber fluid.

  • If your wound has stitches, look for loose ones.

  • Put the dressing in a plastic bag. Then remove your gloves.

• Inspect the wound. Look for signs that it isn't healing normally. A wound that isn’t healing properly may be dark in color or have white streaks. Look for signs of infection. These may include drainage that is yellow, yellow-green, or smelly or increased swelling, pain, warmth or redness in the skin around the wound.

• Dress the wound:

  • Wash your hands again.

  • Put on a new pair of disposable gloves.

  • Clean and dress the wound as you were shown by your healthcare provider or nurse.

  • If you have a drain or tube, be careful not to pull on it.

• Discard any used materials or trash in a sealed plastic bag before placing in a trash can.

Follow-up

Make a follow-up appointment, or as directed by your healthcare provider.

When to call your healthcare provider

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:

• Shaking chills or fever above 100.4°F ( 38°C)

• Bleeding that soaks the dressing

• Stitches that are pulling away from the wound or pulling apart

• Pink fluid weeping from the wound

• Increased drainage from the wound or drainage that is yellow, yellow-green, or smelly

• Increased swelling, pain, or redness in the skin around the wound

• A change in the color or size of the wound

• Increased fatigue

• Loss of appetite