How Ageing Affects Wound Healing

You might have noticed that the wound healing process works quite differently as you age. For instance, when you were a child, your cuts and scrapes would heal so quickly that you were back to brand new in no time. And, if your grandparents were to bruise themselves, it would take much longer for them to heal. 

The body heals wounds in four distinct steps, these are known as: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling. And, for a wound to heal completely and successfully, each of these four phases have to occur in the proper sequence and frame of time. 

Let’s take a look at how age, as a factor, can cause interference with these processes and affect wound healing.

Out of all the factors affecting wound healing, age poses a major risk factor when it comes to slowing down or impairing the healing process. This is because even though your wounds will heal completely, the phases of wound healing are affected. Ageing can derail this process because of the various health problems that stem from old age. 

For example, Diabetes is one such age-related disease that causes delayed wound healing in the body. Aside from age-related diseases, our cells age too. In order to grow and to heal, our cells divide and multiply. Ageing causes our cells to divide more slowly, or they stop dividing altogether. 

This is why, when an elder person’s skin is injured, it has a harder time healing, giving rise to serious skin infections and slow skin regrowth. However, there are a few ways to help increase the pace of wound healing, despite age, such as regular wound dressing changes and using antibiotics. 

By using Hansaplast’s wide range of products, that include wound dressings, bandages, plasters and so on you can protect your injury, as well as promote faster healing.

Modern medicine is progressing at unprecedented rates and soon there will be more information and therapies available on how to treat wounds during the ageing process. Until then, remember to take care of wounds without delay and visit your doctor in case of chronic wounds.