Getting Back on Your Feet: 6 Steps to Help Your Wound Heal

If you’re in the midst of dealing with a slow-healing and potentially problematic foot, ankle, or leg wound, you’re certainly in excellent hands here at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County.

While double board-certified wound specialist Dr. Thomas Rambacher and our team work diligently toward getting your lower limb ulcer on the right healing track, there are steps that you can take to help us out.

The reality is that chronic and slow-healing wounds are potentially serious and even limb-threatening conditions that affect millions of Americans. For example, for the more than 40 million Americans who have diabetes, they’re at much higher risk for diabetic foot ulcers, which affect one-third of people with the chronic disease.

Whatever road landed you with a slow-healing wound, we want to review some key steps that will help you move forward.

1. Follow doctor’s orders

The care we provide for patients with slow-healing wounds is comprehensive and detailed and it’s really important that you follow our instructions to the letter. These instructions come from years of experience in helping people to get to the other side of chronic lower leg wounds with their limbs intact, so these instructions are well worth your while to follow.

2. Act quickly if there’s a change

If you notice any changes in your wound, we want you to report them to us immediately. Some examples include:

• More pain
• Increasing redness
• More discharge out of the wound

Any change in your wound, no matter how small, is worth reporting to us. If you develop a fever or you feel off, please report this to us as well.

3. Boost your immune system through diet

While you’re healing, it’s important that you boost your immune system with the proper fuel. This means staying away from processed and junk foods and eating a healthier diet that includes:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Lean proteins
• Whole grains
• Nuts
• Low-fat dairy

The more nutrients you can supply your body, the better equipped it is to heal.

4. Get your blood circulating

Poor circulation is usually behind slow-healing wounds, so we want you to take steps to improve it. These steps can be literal, if you’re able to walk. Even if you can’t bear weight on the limb with the wound, you can still improve your circulation with chair exercises, such as these here.

By getting your blood flowing, you’re encouraging more healing resources to get to work on your wound.

5. Manage your diabetes

If diabetes is behind your wound, then it’s really important that you work with your provider to manage your glucose levels, especially while you heal.

6. Quit smoking 

Smoking and vaping can create big hurdles to healing, so it’s more important than ever that you quit if you’re dealing with a slow-healing wound.

With a little effort on your end and a lot of great wound care on ours, we’re confident that we can help you get back on your feet.

For a more personalized recovery plan, we invite you to call our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or request an appointment online today.