Why do all my wounds get infected?
Do you ever feel like a walking Petri dish? Every small cut or scrape on your skin seems to turn into an infected wound. You’re not alone, my dear germaphobe. There are many reasons why wounds can get infected and send your immune system into overdrive.
The Dirty Truth About Germs
Germs are sneaky little devils that lurk everywhere we go. They travel by air, water, soil, and anything else they can hitchhike on. Just because something looks clean doesn’t mean it is free of germs.
Fun fact: A single square inch of skin contains up to 50 million bacteria cells.
When you have a wound, whether it’s from a paper cut or stepping on a rusty nail (ouch!), the germs move in for the kill – literally. They start to colonize on the surface of your skin and multiply at an alarming rate. This takes us to our next point…
Your Immune System: Friend or Foe?
Your immune system has one job: Protect your body against harmful invaders such as viruses and bacteria. When you have an open wound, the immune system releases white blood cells (aka infection-fighting ninjas) at the site of injury.
Note: Inflammation is essential for healing wounds but too much inflammation can cause more harm than good by turning normal tissue into damaged tissue.
In some cases,however, there is just too much for your body’s own defense mechanisms to handle causing secondary infections or poor healing response which spreads these every increasing colonies further out from the original wound area giving rise eventually though mostly unnoticeably over time generalized systemic effects having negative impact over overall wellbeing leading towards chronic conditions later in life.
Here Are Some Common Reasons Why Your Wounds Get Infected:
You Don’t Keep It Clean
It may seem obvious but not cleaning a wound can create an angry breeding ground for bacteria. Washing your hands and using sterilized equipment when treating cuts or scrapes can prevent against infections as well.
You Touch It Too Much
Even if you’ve washed those digits, touching the wound too much increases the risk of infection…so keep on scratching that itch!
not recommended
Your Immune System Needs Some Back-Up!
Certain health conditions such as diabetes and HIV/AIDS, which weaken our immune system’s ability to fight off infections, put individuals at higher risk of developing more serious wound infections.
Antibiotic Overuse: To Be or Not To Be?
Antibiotics are powerful medications used to treat bacterial infections. Unfortunately overuse/misuse has led their efficacy waning but other concerns exist beyond this phenomenon in misuse like antibiotic-induced dysbiosis. This refers specifically to changes within one’s microbiome through depletion by antibiotics increasing susceptibility towards systemic effects.
A great deal of discomfort caused by wounds is often addressed with topical applications rather than oral routes without going deeper into root causes because organisms capable of multi-drug resistance proliferation thereby leading into sever medical complications serving no purpose just applying band-aids like antibiotic topicals labeled specificity inducing resistant microbes giving birth among others leading again back towards what was stated above harder-to-treat systemic effects.
Don’t let your love for antibiotics lead you astray!
The Soothing Solutions For Wound Care!
Now it’s time to give your skin some TLC! Here are four easy steps to help reduce the risks of catching horrible bugs:
1) Clean the affected area with soap and water twice daily
2) Avoid picking scabs (let nature run its course!)
3) Covering up injuries until healed completely will also minimize exposure ;
4) Seek Medical Assistance When In Doubt
Finally remember keeping things clean goes a long way toward maintaining good hygiene practices in preventing infections. Cheers to a healthy and happy you!