Emergency Medicine

The most common wounds in season, during our season time, would be skin tears and simple lacerations,” said Lee Health advanced Provider Cynthia Reichelt. She says the severity of your injury will determine if you need to go to the emergency department or to Lee Health Convenient Care. “Often, a patient with a laceration will present right away because they know that these need stitches.”

But there are times when patients wait too long to get care—making the treatment and recovery more complex and putting them at risk for infection. “Some of the skin tears and the deep abrasions, patients tend to wait a few days and then there’s already bacteria build-up or there may be skin loss or death of tissue around it because they didn’t get early intervention,” said Reichelt.

She recommends if you have an open wound to stop the bleeding with compression before going to Convenient Care. “It doesn’t require antimicrobial at that level and it doesn’t require peroxide or betadine those can cause other harm to tissues,” she said.

But if the injury involves a tendon, a ligament, or a deep wound, just go straight to the Emergency Department. “Wounds that come here should be wounds that we consider simple and not complex. Complex wounds involve tendon or bone,” said Reichelt.

Keeping the wound compressed and away from gulf water will also help to protect you from infection before receiving medical care.

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