Delta Regional Medical Center

Patient Pre-Registration

Click here to visit our online patient pre-registartion application.

Breaking News

Delta Regional Medical Center Announces Online Patient Pre-Registration more

Community Focus

Paul Dillon Awarded Engineer of the Year more

Physician's Spotlight

Thomas F. Adams, M.D., Internal Medicine and Pediatrics more

Specialty Spotlight

(Greenville, MS) Summer not only means a rise in temperature, but also an increase in doctors’ appointments and emergency room visits for cuts, burns, bites, and infections thanks to more people spending time outdoors and coming in contact with strangers and animals while traveling.

 

Dr. William Richards at The Wound Healing Center, a service of Delta Regional Medical Center, specializes in chronic wounds. "While fresh air and outdoor activities are certainly good for your health, there are hazards, and people need to take care of any injuries they receive," said Williams, MD. "If someone feels their life is in danger, there should be no question about immediately seeking medical attention. However, with bites and cuts, people tend to wait, because they aren’t sure of the severity of the injury or they may be on vacation and uncertain about seeing someone other than their regular healthcare professional. Often minor summer scrapes can be treated with supplies from a good first aid kit, but major injuries or infections need to be treated by a professional, and the sooner the better."

 

Dr. Richards offers these tips on caring for summer injuries:

 

·        Don’t use ice on minor burns from grills and campfires. Instead, relieve pain and prevent contamination by submerging the burn in cool water. Apply sterile dressings, but do not apply ointment or home remedies such as butter or petroleum jelly that may seal in heat or cause infection.

 

·        Deep puncture wounds made by nails and knives are especially susceptible to tetanus bacteria commonly found in soil. Animal bites also pose a tetanus threat. All wounds should be cleaned immediately. Adults who have not had a tetanus-diphtheria (Td) shot in 10 years or children who have not been vaccinated should seek professional attention and receive the vaccine.

 

·        Seek medical treatment if a burn or wound shows signs of infection, including increased pain at the wound site, redness or swelling spreading away from the wound, a foul wound odor, change in color or amount of drainage from the wound, or if you experience fever, chills, nausea or vomiting.

 

·        People with certain medical conditions need to take extra care. Diabetics, those with vascular disease, people who have had radiation therapy, and the elderly are all more likely to experience chronic wounds that do not heal and become infected. They should clean and closely monitor all wounds for signs of infection or failure to heal, especially those on the lower extremities.

 

·        For animal bites, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) advises emergency room treatment if the animal acts strangely, which may be a sign of rabies. This is especially true for bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes, but less common in dogs, cats, rodents, and plant-eating animals.  Strange behavior includes an unprovoked attack or a nocturnal animal that bites during the day.

 

·        The ACEP suggests conducting a full-body check for ticks each night before going to bed after outdoor activities. After removing the tick with tweezers, keep it in a vial labeled with the person’s name, location of bite site and the date.  Take the vial with you and seek medical attention at the first sign or symptoms of a tick-borne illness.

 

·        The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends emergency assistance for insect bites if the person is having trouble breathing; has swelling anywhere on the face; feels weak; or if their throat feels tight or their face is turning blue. Emergency rooms and wound healing centers equipped with hyperbaric oxygen chambers are needed to treat some serious spider bites, like those of the brown recluse.