Wound Care For Your Feet
Proper wound care is something we often neglect, until the pain sets in or the wound is worrying.
Here are some simple steps to how to clean a wound on your foot:
1. Make sure your hands are clean or use gloves
2. Use a sterilised cleansing solution to clean the wound. Saline is a good choice as it is easy to find and
affordable
3. Have some sterile gauze, cotton buds or cotton wool handy
4. For convenience, pour the cleansing solution directly onto the gauze, cotton bud or wool
5. Next, gently wipe the wound in one clean direction (i.e. top to bottom, or left to right)
6. Avoid rubbing in circles or ‘scrubbing’ the wound, as this may cause bacteria on the wound
to spread
7. Pat dry, ideally with a cotton bud or gauze. Cotton wool may stick to the wound
8. Apply antiseptic to the wound, betadine is a common brand. However, if you have iodine
allergies or suffer from kidney/thyroid disorders, you may consider an alternative
9. Lastly, cover the area with a dry dressing, the absorbent pad should be larger than the
wound itself to ensure the wound is protected
10. Repeat daily until the wound is completely dry
When should I seek medical help?
Wounds on the foot should be kept clean and dry at all times. This is to prevent an onset of
infection. If the area around the wound turns red, hot and swollen, it may be getting infected. If pus,
increased pain or spreading redness develop, seek medical attention with your GP immediately as
these are more severe signs of infection.
TIP: a handy method of keeping foot wounds dry in the shower
a. Wrap your foot in a rubber glove
b. Use surgical tape to enclose the glove at the ankle
Remember, we have four convenient locations around adelaide to help. Cowandilla, Adelaide City, Daw Park and Birdwood.
If you would like to see if we can help, simply call us on (08) 8568 5544 or visit us here