How does wound care ointment turn black when applied to the wound

Most of this blackening is a normal drug reaction, and only a few are dangerous signs of wound necrosis. Don't panic when you see it.

Last week, Aunt Zhang fell while riding an electric bike downstairs and scratched a large area of her knee. When she got home, she applied a wound care ointment containing silver ions. After half a day, she came to me with her pants lifted and asked if the wound was completely black and was going to rot. I gave her sterile saline solution to wipe off the excess on the surface. The ointment is gently wiped off, and the scab underneath is a very healthy brown-red color. There is no problem at all - the silver ions react with the protein seeping out of the wound to produce gray-black silver sulfide, which indicates that the antibacterial ingredients are already working, so there is no need to worry.

Of course, not all blackening is related to silver ions. If you are using a nursing ointment with traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, the ointment itself will be darker brown. The pigments contained in the raw materials such as rhubarb and gallnut will soak into the moist wound scab, making it look several degrees darker than usual. This is easier. Apply a thin layer next time, not so thick that it covers the wound, and the color will not be so heavy.

Of course, we cannot ignore the blackening of the foot. A few months ago, I met an old man with diabetic foot. At first, he applied nursing ointment on his foot. Later, he found that the wound turned black, but he didn’t care. He thought it was a problem with the ointment. He waited until the pain was so bad that he could not walk before he came to the hospital. After wiping off the ointment, he found that the tissue underneath had been damaged. It has been ischemic and necrotic. This blackening has nothing to do with the ointment. It is caused by poor blood circulation in the wound itself and the progression of infection. It is often accompanied by redness, swelling and heat around the wound, a rancid smell on the wound, and turbid and smelly exudate. If this happens, don't change dressings at home, and go to the hospital to find professional wound treatment.

If you are not sure when changing the dressing at home, first use saline to gently wipe the surface of the ointment clean and observe. If the wound underneath is dry, not painful or swollen, then apply the medicine as normal. Don't rub it too hard as it will break the newly grown delicate granulations, which will slow down the healing.