It is any lesion at the level of the head that affects the skin, producing a loss of its integrity.
It is usually due to falls, blows, burns, weapons and other types of accidents.
It may manifest with bleeding, pain and redness. If infection is added, it may be accompanied by swelling, heat, pain, desquamation, itching, discoloration, etc.
Diagnosis is obtained by interrogation and physical examination of the lesion area.
Depending on the depth of the wound, they are classified as follows:
Superficial or simple: they damage only the outer layers of the skin (epidermis and dermis), without affecting noble elements such as blood vessels, nerves or tendons.
Deep: they extend beyond the deepest layer of the skin (subcutaneous cellular tissue) affecting various tissues, skin, muscle or bone. Reconstruction and regeneration will be more difficult.
Perforating: they penetrate organic cavities, causing lesions to organs.
Impalement: caused by an incised-puncturing object, which is trapped in the body causing different types of lesions and organ involvement.
In many cases, they can be managed at home or on an outpatient basis. If the lesion is deep or the bleeding is very important, you should receive assistance from a specialist in a hospital.
- Pancorbo-Hidalgo P. Investigación sobre las heridas. Gerokomos [Internet]. 2016 ; 27( 3 ): 89-90. Disponible en: http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1134-928X2016000300001
- MedlinePlus: Información de Salud para usted [Internet]. Estados Unidos: National Library of Medicine. Disponible en: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/woundsandinjuries.html
- Amstrong D, Meyr A. Clinical assessment of wounds. UptoDate [Internet]. 2018. Disponible en:https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-assessment-of-wounds?search=wound%20diagnosis&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1
