How To Prevent And Treat Torn Skin
If you are elderly or in other groups at high risk for torn skin (more on that in a minute), you can take precautions to avoid this painful skin injury. Here are some prevention steps for you to keep in mind.
How to prevent skin from tearing
Use moisturizer on your legs, arms and hands several times a day, with extra attention to driest areas. Doctors suggest Vanicream, Cetaphill or generic versions of these. Using creams like this regularly, skin will become more elastic and resistant to tearing.
Keep vulnerable areas of the body covered with sturdy clothing: Wear long sleeve shirts and pants of strong denim or other durable fabrics. If you are doing work with your hands, wear gloves.
Drink plenty of water and other fluids to keep your body hydrated.
Eat a well balanced diet and take a multi vitamin.
Arrange your home and work areas so that it is easy to maneuver without bumping into furniture or other objects. Clear away boxes and clutter. Note: The greatest percentage of skin tears are from bumping into things.
Keep adequate lighting to avoid bumping into things. If outdoors at night, take a flashlight.
Avoid sun exposure or if you can’t, wear strong sun block
How to treat a torn skin injury
First clean area where the tear has occurred: Use a wound cleaner, and avoid rubbing. Let the wound dry by air or use a soft towel.
If the skin is still attached after injury occurs, put it back in place and it will re-integrate in some cases. Sometimes a flap of skin should not be replaced, such as instances where it is extensively damaged or infected.
Apply dressing to damaged area and cover with gauze. Secure in place with paper tape that is not prone to stick so strongly that removing it will rip skin more. You can find paper tape for use with gauze in most drug stores. When removing tape, roll off slowly, do not rip off. Change gauze before it has a chance to dry and bond to the skin.
Another option for keeping dressing in place is wearing stockingettes or hand or arm supports, which have elastic to stay in place. These are available from your doctor or at a medical supply outlet.
The groups most likely to suffer skin tears are the elderly, frequent users of oral or topical corticosteroids, those confined to wheel chairs or immobilized, people who take a lot of medications, and individuals with disease and/or compromised immunity. Also at risk are people who don’t receive adequate nutrition, and those with very dry skin, bleeding disorders, amyloidosis (a rare disease in which a protein builds up in bodily organs), Ehler-Danlos (hereditary, it causes skin to lack the ability to stretch, and other problems in cells and joints), and excessive sun exposure in the past or currently.
Most skin tears happen to the upper body, and the affected person discovers the torn skin accidentally, without even knowing when the tear occurred, or how.