2023-08-16 10:22:53
A slip on the rock, a thorn underfoot, a tumble in beach volleyball. While on vacation, it often happens that you suffer a few small injuries: a graze, a cut or a peeling. And just as often we let ourselves be deceived by “fake” remedies which, instead of helping, can make these small wounds worse. The two most common are those according to which “sea water disinfects wounds” and “the sun accelerates healing”. The truth, however, is another: “The sea and the sun’s rays have no curative effect – explains Giovanni Papa, president of the Italian association of skin ulcers Ets (Aiuc), director of the Plastic Surgery Department of the Cattinara hospital – In fact, they are just old clichés that, at best, do neither good nor bad. At worst, however, they can complicate minor injuries, ruining the holidays”.
Although salt water has been used as a remedy for skin lesions for centuries, actually today, immersing an open wound in the sea increases the risk of infection, warns the expert. “Sea water, which very often and anything but ‘clean’ increases the probability that a lesion will be infected by various microorganisms – he explains – thus giving rise to more or less serious complications: from the formation of abscesses to rare forms of bacterial infections, up to bone and joint infections. The ‘fragile’ subjects, such as those with liver disease or diabetes, or who are immunosuppressed, have an even greater risk of infection”.
Even exposing a small wound to the sun can lead to a number of unpleasant consequences. “The sun’s rays do not heal wounds, they do not accelerate their healing or reduce the risk of infections – the expert underlines – In fact, exposure to the sun can induce hyperpigmentation of the skin, i.e. a spot on the affected part of the skin. where the wounds are located. The stain that was created in this way after the wounds were exposed to the sun can remain for a long time even after the healing process has taken place. Therefore, wounds should be covered and protected rather than exposed to the sun.”
Wounds, even small ones, must therefore be managed following conventional medical advice. “Disinfectant, plasters or sterile gauze: these are the only ‘do-it-yourself’ remedies allowed – recommends the Pope – Furthermore, specific over-the-counter products can be used to speed up the healing of wounds, such as, for example, ointments, sprays or gauzes of wheat extract which is particularly effective in promoting the healing process. We have demonstrated its effectiveness on even more difficult wounds, such as skin graft wounds, in a recent The Plastic, Reconstructive & Regenerative Surgery (Prss) Journal study, and we believe it can be equally effective on small and superficial wounds”.
“The treatment based on the aqueous extract of Triticum Vulgaris obtained from wheat germ, thanks to its particular consistency and composition (starches, phospholipids, glycolipids) – underlines Papa – is able to create a film on the wound useful for avoiding the loss of liquids and at the same time to attract, just like a magnet, the fibroblastic cells responsible for the healing process right away, i.e. already in the inflammation phase. Furthermore, thanks to the addition of polyhexanide, a powerful antiseptic, the treatment is able to counteract the risk of infection with savings on the use of antibiotics and other drugs”.
In another recent research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine – reads a note – a group of researchers from the University of Salerno, Irccs Neuromed and the San Giovanni di Dio and Ruggi d’Aragona University Hospital of Salerno, concluded that the treatment based on wheat extract is more effective than hyaluronic acid, another therapy already used for the same purpose, in promoting the healing of skin lesions. The research involved 58 patients over 18, recruited at the Aou Ruggi d’Aragona in Salerno, from September 2020 to December 2021. The participants had a skin lesion due to a burn, trauma or surgical wound. They were divided into two groups, based on the treatment administered: one was given wheat extract therapy, the other hyaluronic acid-based treatment. The therapies were applied every 24 hours on all patients. After 6 weeks of treatment it emerged that the wheat extract, in combination with the polyhexanide, has an almost double efficacy in stimulating complete wound healing. In particular, at the end of the observation period, the number of patients totally cured was 17 among those subjected to treatment with hyaluronic acid and 28 among those who had received therapy with wheat extract.
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