General WOUND CARE

The relationship between wound, host and bacteria is continuously changing as a result of local, environmental and systemic factors (Templeton, 2014). One of these factors may be the use of antibiotics. However, due to the emergence of many resistant bacteria, the routine use of topical and oral antibiotics is not justified for colonised or infected wounds and should only be considered for wounds that are clinically infected and showing signs of spreading erythema and pyrexia, or if the patient is feeling generally unwell. Therefore, as bacterial colonisation of the wound does not necessarily indicate infection, it should be clear that antibiotics should not be the first choice, although removal of bacteria before it can critically colonise a wound is very important. This places antibacterials in an important position for wound healing if they are effective in reducing colonisation.