After surgery or injury, you want to get back on your feet as quickly as possible. But if your wounds are healing slowly, or have become infected, then it’s time to learn how to heal wounds faster.
That’s what we’re here to teach you about today!
Infection and festering wounds can lead to serious health complications, but luckily, there are plenty of trusted methods for how to heal wounds faster and prevent infection. Today we will discuss our top tips on how to heal wounds faster, so you can get back to doing the things you love.
12 tips for how to heal wounds faster
Here are some simple methods you can try to boost your body’s healing potential. Read on to learn how to heal wounds faster.
1. Keep the wound clean
One of the most vital things that you can do to prevent infection is to keep your wound area clean. Gently cleanse your wound with soap and water, being careful not to irritate the skin around the wound.
You may also need to remove any debris or dead tissue from the wound so that bacteria cannot grow in these areas.
2. Try a topical ointment
There are a number of topical ointments available that can help heal wounds fast and reduce the chance of infection.
Applying a topical solution is an important part of speeding up the wound repair process to help heal wounds fast. While there are many ways of doing this, one of the most effective is using an antibacterial ointment.
Antibacterial ointment
Antibacterial ointments contain ingredients that kill bacteria and help to prevent infection. This is super helpful for speeding up the healing process, as infections can delay wound healing.
To use an antibacterial ointment, simply apply a small amount to the affected area and cover it with a bandage. You should apply more ointment when you change your bandage.
Petroleum jelly
In addition to an antibacterial ointment, you can also try a barrier like petroleum jelly to keep the wound moist, clean, and protected from friction. This can be a great choice if you don’t currently have an infection, and don’t want to mess with your body’s natural bacterial balance.
Aloe vera
And, last but not least, aloe vera is a wonderful natural solution for how to heal wounds faster. It has long been used for its medicinal properties, and studies have shown that aloe vera can speed up the healing process of wounds.
When aloe vera is applied topically, it can help to soothe and heal the skin. It has potent antibacterial and antifungal properties, which, like antibacterial ointment, can reduce infection.
Aloe vera also has anti-inflammatory properties, which help to reduce swelling and redness around the wound site. If you have aloe vera plants in your house, you can simply apply the gel from the plant directly to the wound. You can also buy aloe vera products from most health food stores.
3. Keep your wound covered
Do wounds heal faster covered or uncovered? The answer is: covered!
Once the wound is clean and you have applied an ointment, you should use a bandage to protect the area and keep out dirt and bacteria.
You should then change this bandage regularly, usually around once a day (but make sure to follow any specific instructions from your healthcare provider).
When you change bandages, use this as an opportunity to wash the wound again and apply more topical solution.
4. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet
When looking at how to heal wounds faster, what you put into your body can be just as important as the topical treatments you use. That’s because what you eat can either help to reduce inflammation or make it worse.
Certain foods are known to be anti-inflammatory, which means they help to reduce swelling and redness. If you’re wondering “what can I eat to make my wound heal faster”, these include omega-3 fatty acids, turmeric, and ginger, among other foods.
You can also make sure to stick to anti-inflammatory fats.
There are two types of fats – saturated and unsaturated. Both types of fat serve important functions in the body, but they can also have different effects on inflammation.
Saturated fats, which are found in animal products and some plant oils, can increase inflammation.
Unsaturated fats, on the other hand, can help to reduce inflammation and are key in how to heal wounds faster. These fats are found in olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds.
So, if you want to reduce inflammation, it’s best to limit your intake of saturated fats and eat more foods that contain unsaturated fats.
5. Avoid sugar and refined carbs
As you’ve figured out by now, part of knowing how to heal wounds faster is knowing what NOT to do. This means sugar and refined carbs are a big no-no. Sugar and refined carbs can both cause inflammation, which leads to slower healing times for wounds.
To help heal wounds faster, make sure you stay away from sweets and stick to whole grains and an anti-inflammatory diet.
6. Drink green tea
Did you know that drinking green tea can play a major role in how to heal wounds faster? Green tea is famous for its many health benefits, and one of these is its ability to reduce inflammation.
Green tea contains a potent antioxidant known as EGCG. This antioxidant has been shown to help decrease inflammation in the body.
Studies have demonstrated that green tea can help to reduce inflammation in a number of different ways. For example, green tea has been shown to reduce the production of inflammatory substances in the body, such as cytokines and chemokines.
Green tea has also been shown to significantly reduce the activity of inflammatory enzymes. As such, drinking green tea may help you feel better and heal faster when recovering from a wound.
7. Try out a turmeric paste
Looking for another natural method for how to heal wounds faster? You might want to try turmeric! Turmeric is a spice that has been used in Indian cuisine for centuries. It has only recently become popular in the Western world, partly due to its many health benefits.
Turmeric contains curcumin, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory compound. This compound helps to reduce inflammation in the body, which in turn helps with how to heal wounds faster.
You can use turmeric to heal wounds by simply mixing turmeric and water into a paste and applying a small amount of the spice to the affected area. Leave the turmeric on the wound for at least 30 minutes, then wash it off with warm water.
Repeat this process several times a day until the wound heals.
Turmeric is a safe and effective way to speed up the healing of wounds. However, it is important to note that it should not be used on open wounds. If you have an open wound, it is best to check out alternative forms of open wound treatment.
8. Keep blood sugar under control
Part of understanding how to heal wounds faster is knowing what can slow wound healing down and avoiding it. If you have diabetes, one of the most important things you can do for your health is to keep your blood sugar under control.
When blood sugar is high, it can damage the tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to your wound site. This can delay healing and even lead to serious infections.
So if you have diabetes, be sure to work closely with your doctor to keep your blood sugar under control to promote diabetes wound healing. It’s one of the best things you can do for your health—and your wounds.
9. Reduce your stress levels
It is not only the physical we should look at when assessing how to heal wounds faster. It is well known that stress has a negative impact on our health, including our ability to heal wounds fast.
When we are stressed, our bodies release hormones that interfere with the wound healing process. Stress can lead to an increase in inflammation, which can further delay healing. So, knowing how to heal wounds faster also means knowing how to reduce stress.
There are plenty of ways to reduce stress and promote healing. Some easy lifestyle changes, such as getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly, can make a big difference.
In addition, relaxation techniques such as meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and yoga can help to reduce stress levels.
10. Contact your doctor
If you have already tried a lot of the methods on this list of how to heal wounds faster, and you’re still wondering what to do if a wound won’t heal, the simple answer is to head to your local doctor.
If you have a more serious wound, or one that is not healing properly, antibiotics or other more comprehensive methods might be required to help the wound heal. It’s also possible you have an underlying health issue preventing wound healing, and a doctor can help you to diagnose and treat it.
Whatever the reason, if your wound is still infected after two weeks, you should get to the doctor and make sure there are no complications.
11. Get plenty of protein for optimal wound healing
Protein is an essential nutrient for healing wounds. It helps to reduce inflammation and promote tissue regeneration. Eating a diet rich in protein can help to heal wounds faster and prevent further tissue damage and is a key part in knowing how to heal wounds faster.
It is thought that reduced levels of protein in vegan diets is one of the reasons why a plant based diet and wound healing do not go hand in hand.
If you decide to use protein powder to boost your protein levels, make sure that you go with one that is a complete protein (contains all essential amino acids) for maximum wound healing benefits.
12. Include collagen in your wound healing regimen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, and it’s no surprise that it plays a major role in wound healing. Collagen is a vital part of the extracellular matrix, which provides structural support to cells and tissues.
When wounds occur, collagen fibers are broken down and need to be replaced in order for the wound to heal properly.
The body’s ability to produce collagen reduces with age, which is one of the reasons why older adults often have more difficulty healing wounds. In addition, certain chronic diseases (like diabetes) can interfere with collagen production, making wound healing more difficult.
Fortunately, there are now many products on the market that contain collagen, which can help to promote wound healing. Collagen-based dressings are one option that can be used to cover wounds and provide a source of collagen for the body to use during the healing process.
There are also collagen supplements that can be taken orally, which can help to boost collagen levels in the body and promote collagen wound healing.
Collagen wound healing is made even more effective when using hydrolyzed collagen, which is a form of collagen that is broken down into a form that the body finds easier to use.
Knowing how to heal wounds faster is a holistic process. Keeping the wound clean and dry is crucial, but there are also a bunch of different foods, techniques, and supplements that you can use that will have you back on your feet in no time.
We believe that aside from properly caring for your wound, the most powerful way of healing your wound is by supplementing with medical grade collagen, simply because the evidence for collagen wound healing is so vast and compelling.
When choosing your collagen supplement, make sure you go for one that has added tryptophan. This makes your collagen a complete protein, and means that you get the maximum healing benefits from your supplement.
