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Skin Tears - Easy to miss, but easy to treat.
A skin tear is a wound caused by shear, friction, and/or blunt force resulting in separation of skin layers.
Elderly patients often experience skin tears due to their fragile skin. Causes can include every day accidents such as falling over or bumping into furniture, as well as friction from clothing or new surfaces such as a wheelchair or hospital beds.Particular care should be taken when handling elderly patients with fragile skin to ensure skin tears are not inadvertently incurred.
There is a requirement for increased awareness around skin tear injuries. They can be painful and upsetting for patients who are affected. Unfortunately they often go ignore misdiagnosed or mistreated. Left untreated or treated inappropriately can result in a chronic injury which increases healing times, cost of treatment and distress to patients.
The International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP) convened a group of experts from Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia, who met in November 2017 to provide internationally recognised recommendations for the prevention and management of skin tears, with updated definitions and terminology.
Click here for a copy of the Best Practice Document.
Mepitel One is designed to facilitate safe and undisturbed healing including safe removal on skin tears where the flap is fully or partially intact. Mepitel One is indicated for use of up to 14 days.
Mepilex Border Flex is the next generation of flexible dressings which are designed to stay on and uniquely conform. Suitable for a skin tear with total flap loss. Mepilex Border Flex is indicated for use of up to 7 days.
Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions for more information on Skin Tears and how to treat them.
ISTAP Classifications and Recommended Approach to Treatment
Buy Mepilex Border Flex for Type 3 Skin Tears
Videos and Educational Resources
How to apply Mepitel One on Skin Tears
Dressing a wound using Mepitel One
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How do you treat a skin tear?
5 easy steps to treat a skin tear:
- Identify whether the wound is bleeding, if so apply pressure and elevate.
- Rinse the skin tear either tap water or a saline solution. It is important to take note that the skin is not being torn further and do not use hydrogen peroxide or other products besides water/saline.
- Let it dry either naturally or carefully patting the tear (Do not rub)
- In cases where there is a flap of skin, lay it back in place or as close to the wound as possible. Do not force it in position.
- Cover the wound with the appropriate dressing.
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What do skin tears look like?
Skin tears look like large cuts or scrapes however they do vary in thickness.
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How long does a skin tear take to heal?
In an ideally treated case, the skin tear should heal in approximately 4 weeks.
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What dressing is good for skin tears?
Several types of dressings work well for skin tears. These include film, foam, Ag and silver dressings.
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How do you prevent skin tears?
Some preventable behaviours include moisturising (twice a day if possible) and avoiding friction on the skin - patting dry instead of rubbing.
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References
- Patton ML, et al. An open, prospective, randomised pilot investigation evaluating pain with the use of a soft silicone wound contact layer vs bridal veil and staples on split thickness skin grafts as a primary dressing. J Burn Care Res. 2013;34(6):674-681.
- David F. et al. A randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial comparing the performance of a soft silicone-coated wound contact layer (Mepitel One) with a lipidocolloid wound contact layer (UrgoTul) in the treatment of acute wounds. International Wound Journal, 2017.
- Collin O. Use of Mepitel One dressing following hand surgery: a case study series. Poster presentation at Wounds UK Conference, United Kingdom, 2009.
- Edwards J, et al. Hand burn management: minimising pain and trauma at dressing change. BJON. 2013; Vol 22, No 20.
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