Infections (HB)

All wounds can become “infected.” In most cases, a healthy person will shrug off that infection, and their immune system will manage it before it progresses to something severe.

Signs of infection can occur in a couple of days depending on various factors, including contamination of the wound, overall hygiene and health of the patient, and mechanism.

We can mitigate infection by keeping the site of the wound clean. Wound cleaning is a simple process, and we will go through the process in the next Topic.

Local Infection

A local infection is the most common form. This form is where the signs of infection only affect the wound itself. The redness, pain, and swelling stay localized to the wound. There may be a little bit of discharge from the wound, but again, but that is it.

Keep it clean and protected from further contamination, and it should heal fine.

Some local infections can form an abscess. If this abscess is near the surface, you can safely drain it. Clean the area around it on the skin, and then open it up with a sterile needle or blade. You can help clear it with irrigation—just like standard wound cleaning, but do not try and squeeze (or express) the drainage—this is just more likely to further force the bad stuff into the wound. If the abscess is deeper, you should get the patient to medical care in a hospital—you are not Dr. Pimple Popper.

Systemic Infection (sepsis)

A systemic infection has progressed beyond the bounds of the wound and can put the entire patient’s health at risk. Sepsis is a serious condition and should be treated as such. The patient will need IV antibiotics and likely other medications depending on how bad the infection has progressed—you cannot manage this in the field.

Patients with a systemic infection can have a fever, a general feeling of sickness, and may have red streaking branching out from the wound toward the heart (technically, the streaking will follow the lymphatic system).