Can Hot Weather Affect Wound Healing?

Americans are no strangers to slow-healing and chronic wounds, which are largely fueled by diabetes, age, and cardiovascular issues. For example, chronic wounds affect 3% of Americans over the age of 65 and, given that this population segment is on the rise in the United States, so, too, are chronic wounds.

And this doesn't even count the millions of people in the United States with diabetes who develop slow-healing lower leg and foot wounds.

However your wound developed, you want to do everything in your power to get it to heal. As a leading expert in difficult and chronic foot, ankle, and leg wounds, double board-certified surgeon Dr. Thomas Rambacher understands that there are a lot of factors that influence wound healing. That’s why the team here at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County wants to touch on one here: hot weather.

The effects that weather can have on wound healing

There are two different temperatures to consider when it comes to wound healing. First, there’s body temperature, which needs to be between 91.4°F and 107.6°F. And this isn’t usually a hurdle as most people’s body temperatures are within this range.

The ambient, or environmental, temperature is where we want to focus our attention, specifically hot weather.

While we enjoy mostly temperate weather year-round in Southern California, we can have higher temperatures during the summer and these heat waves can have an impact on your body’s ability to heal a struggling wound.

More specifically, higher temperatures that reach into the 90s and even 100s can trigger oxidative stress, encourage inflammation, and disrupt the overall ecological balance inside the wound.

When we refer to ecological balance, we’re mainly referring to the fact that bacteria and fungi love warm, wet weather and thrive in those conditions, which isn’t great news for wounds that we need to protect.

Hot weather and wound dressings

Another issue that we run into during hotter weather patterns is functional. For example, keeping your wound dressings dry and in place when it's hot out can be challenging. When you sweat, adhesives don’t stick as well and dressings can shift.

The sweat can soak wound dressings as well, altering their ability to protect your wound.

Lastly, when you sweat, dirt, debris, and other environmental agents can get into your wound more easily as the sweat runs down your body, compromising the sterile environment.

Navigating hot weather and wound healing

Since our goal is to create an ideal healing environment, we have to be mindful of environmental temperatures. So, if we get into a hot spell, we’ll work with you on keeping your wound clean and dry. We’ve got great prescription wound care products that can form a protective seal in most any temperature.

On your end, it’s always a good idea to avoid situations in which sweat can get into your wound, so if it’s hot out, try and keep your wound as cool (and dry) as possible.

If you have more questions about the effects of weather on your wound’s ability to heal, we’re just a phone call or click away. To set that in motion, call our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or request an appointment online today.