FEATURED ARTICLE: Wound Awareness Week
Posted 20 March 12Wound Awareness Week, 26-30 March 2012, is a national campaign designed to raise public and professional awareness of issues and approaches to wound management, best practice in wound management and where the public can go for help. This year, the Australian Wound Management Association focuses on leg ulcers, with the campaign aiming to petition the Australian Government regarding the cost associated with management venous leg ulcers.
Leg ulcers refer to full thickness skin loss on the leg or foot due to any cause.1 They occur in association with a range of disease processes, most commonly with blood circulation diseases.1 Age, varicose veins, smoking and arterial disease increase the risk of leg ulcers.2 Treatment options include compression bandages, dressings and surgery.2 Keeping the affected leg elevated above the level of the heart can help.2
For more information on Wound Awareness Week, visit www.awma.com.au/pages/wac.php
- DermNet NZ. Leg Ulcers [online]. 2012 [cited 20 March 2012]. Available from URL: http://dermnetnz.org/site-age-specific/leg-ulcers.html
- Better Health Channel. Leg Ulcers [online]. 2012 [cited 20 March 2012]. Available from URL: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Leg_ulcers?open
