Skin Bacteria: Implications for Wound Care - Essay Example

"Skin Bacteria: Implications for Wound Care" is a perfect example of a paper on social and family issues.
The skin has millions of bacteria that are of about 1000 species. These bacteria rarely result in a person developing an infection. Types and amounts of bacteria on human remain relatively constant over a long period of time. The number in some cases varies due to the acidic nature of the skin. This acidity of the skin varies in men and women. The difference in the acidity is caused by physiologic differences such as sweat, hormones, and sebum production. The number of bacteria also varies due to the constant nature of the shedding of the outer skin (Zulkowski, 2013).

The literature on hand-washing is the source of much of the information about skin bacteria. Skin bacteria and handwashing have been studied for a long period of time. The number of bacteria on the different parts of the skin varies depending on the thickness of the skin. The skin has folds as well as sebaceous and sweat glands. It also has hair follicles. Each of these areas develops its own microsystem. As a result, different types and numbers of bacteria and other organisms are found in moist, dry, and oily parts of the skin.

Whenever a wound occurs in the skin, there are possibilities of infections. Wounds become contaminated with bacteria originating from the surrounding skin, patient sources, or the local environment. The chances for infection are higher for people chemotherapy, anti-inflammatories, or any person at high risk for immune-suppression. The main signs of infection include no response to therapy, friable tissues, increased pain, or probes to the bone. The more the wound remains unhealed, the higher the chances of it acquiring multiple aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Chronic wounds in most cases have low tissue oxygen levels that help in the growth of anaerobes (Zulkowski, 2013).

Patient-centered management

According to (Zulkowski, 2013), about 6.5 million people in the United States develop chronic wounds annually. In developing countries, about 1 to 2% of the people develop a chronic wound in their lifetime. In 2009, the U.S spent $25 billion on wound care. Globally, this amount is about $13 to $15 billion annually. Most of those people who have wounds that fail or take long to heal have multiple comorbidities, more so diabetes and other vascular issues. In acute care, about 72% of those patients with pressure ulcers are over 65 years. Chronic wounds are mostly associated with congestive heart failure, diabetes, and other vascular diseases. They also associated with immobility from traumatic paralysis and strokes. The wound care product market is expected to hit $21 billion by the end of 2015.

Application to nursing practice    

Healthcare workers are always at risk of coming into contact with bacteria from the patient’s wounds. Clean activities such as straightening the patient gown or bed linen, taking a pulse, or touching the items that have been in contact with patients can transfer the bacteria to the health worker. Bacteria have also been found on wall soap dispensers and sink faucets. However, the use of tap water versus sterile saline has not been found to increase the rate of infection (Gordillo et al., 2009).

There have been several discussions on clean versus sterile technique. It has been discussed for would care when it comes to both dressing and cleansing solutions. However, there are definitive answers to the best practice. Understanding of new residual bacteria types of locations will help in future research. The normal skin bacteria have been found to increase near and on the wound just after the dressing change. Doing so has practice implications. For instance, if dressing A is changed on the sacrum and then dressing B on the foot, it stands to reason that the bacteria will be transferred between the wounds. It is not known whether this wound would cause harm or increase the infection (Zulkowski, 2013).