What to know about skin tears and traumatic wounds

Young skin is anchored. Its outer and inner layers lock together with small ridges, a little like two egg cartons stacked. Over the decades those ridges flatten, the skin makes less collagen and natural oil, the cushion of fat beneath thins out, and small blood vessels grow brittle. The result is skin that slides, splits and bruises under forces a younger person would never notice. Most of those forces come from ordinary life: a hand gripping an arm during a transfer, a bed rail, a walker frame, a watch band, a pet’s claws, a fingernail, or a strip of tape peeled away. Dryness and years of sun make matters worse, which is one reason tears cluster on the forearms and the backs of the hands.

What an assessment covers

For any injury below the knee, the treating clinician examines the leg, not only the wound. Pulses at the foot and ankle, skin temperature and color, and hair and nail growth give clues about blood flowing in. Swelling, brownish staining around the ankle and bulging veins give clues about blood flowing back out. Both matter, because a shin wound on a swollen or poorly supplied leg behaves like a leg ulcer in the making. If the findings raise questions, the clinician may order circulation testing before deciding how swelling should be managed. The care plan then covers the leg as a whole: protecting the wound, controlling fluid, and guarding the shin against the next knock.

Local context: Madison County, Illinois

On the Illinois side of the river, an injury is usually first treated at an Illinois hospital or urgent care, and the insurance behind it may be an Illinois Medicaid plan or a Medicare Advantage plan with its own provider list. Before a wound visit is scheduled in Madison County, Gateway confirms which partner clinician can see the person in Illinois and helps the family raise the right questions with the plan. A fresh skin tear should not be left waiting on paperwork, so call once the injury has been seen. We request the hospital records in the meantime.

Madison County reaches from the Mississippi River at Alton and Granite City, over the bluffs to Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville and Collinsville, and east through farmland to Troy and Highland. Godfrey, Wood River and Bethalto fill in the north. That is a lot of ground, and the distance to a wound clinic or a doctor’s office varies widely from one town to the next. People who cannot travel easily, whether they live in a river-town bungalow or on a rural road, gain the most when care is arranged where they live.

When care happens at home

Home visits suit this kind of wound for a simple reason: the person who has just fallen or torn their skin is often the person least able to travel. After you contact Gateway, we learn where the person lives and what happened, gather any urgent care or emergency room paperwork, confirm that a partner clinician is available for that address, and schedule the visit. The clinician assesses the wound at home, with the chair, the bed and the bathroom that may have played a part in plain view. Orders and supplies are coordinated from there, and we stay in touch with the family about what comes next.

Care in skilled nursing and assisted living

Rehabilitation centers move fragile people on purpose. Therapy means transfers, gait belts, braces, parallel bars and wheelchair leg rests, and each one can catch a shin or a forearm. Many patients also arrive with wounds from the fall or accident that led to the admission. The treating clinician coordinates with nursing and the therapy team so that dressing changes fit around sessions and protective padding does not get in the way of exercise. Stays are short, so the discharge plan matters. Gateway can help carry the wound orders, supply needs and follow-up visits to the next setting, whether that is home or long-term care.

Signs to tell the clinician about

When the wound came from a fall, the skin may not be the most serious injury, and some problems show up hours or days later. Let the treating clinician know about:

  • New pain in a hip, wrist, shoulder, ribs or back
  • Limping, or reluctance to stand or use an arm
  • Dizziness on standing, more unsteadiness or another fall
  • A wound that looks no better from one week to the next

Call 911 if the person hit their head and then develops a severe headache, vomiting, confusion, unusual sleepiness or trouble speaking, or if an arm or leg looks misshapen or cannot bear weight.

How primary care fits in

Skin is built from what a person eats and drinks. Older adults who have lost their appetite, lost weight or drink little often have dry, slow-healing skin, and a wound raises the body’s need for protein and fluid. Diabetes adds another layer, since high blood sugar slows repair and makes infection more likely. A primary care clinician can check weight trends, order lab work where appropriate, review blood sugar and suggest a dietitian if that fits. These are slow fixes, so they help most when started early. Arranging primary care alongside wound visits means the body’s side of healing gets attention while the dressing does its part.

Primary care at home in Madison County →

How to get started in Madison County

If you have been managing a wound mostly on your own and are looking for skin tear and traumatic wound care in Madison County, you can call Gateway yourself at 314-325-0126. Tell us what the wound looks like now, what the last clinician said about it and what is getting harder to manage. It helps to know the patient’s insurance and the names of the doctors involved, but do not wait until you have everything. We check whether a partner clinician can see the patient at home or in their facility, and we tell you what we find. The treating clinician takes it from there, and you stay part of the conversation.

Madison County patients are discharged from several hospitals: Anderson Hospital in Maryville, Alton Memorial Hospital, OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton, Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland. Gateway Wound Care is not affiliated with any of them, and follow-up can be requested no matter where the stay took place. A family member or discharge planner tells us where the patient is headed, whether home or a facility. We then obtain the discharge orders and arrange a visit with a partner clinician once availability for that location is confirmed.

  • County: Madison County, Illinois
  • ZIP codes: 62025, 62034, 62234, 62040, 62002, 62035
  • Nearby hospitals: Anderson Hospital in Maryville; Alton Memorial Hospital; OSF Saint Anthony's Health Center in Alton; Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City; HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Highland (not affiliated with Gateway)
  • Nearby communities: Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Collinsville, Granite City, Alton, Godfrey, Illinois
  • Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Related care in Madison County

Read the full guide to skin tears and traumatic wounds, or see everything Gateway arranges on the mobile wound care in Madison County page.

Common questions

Will insurance pay for traumatic wound care at home in Madison County?

It depends on the plan, the treating provider and the care that is needed, so we cannot tell you in advance that a service is a covered benefit. You can ask us about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans. Keep the insurance card handy when we talk, and we will help you work out which questions to put to the plan and the provider before care begins.

Will the skin be normal again once a tear has healed?

It will be closed, but usually not as strong as before. Healed skin over a tear is often thinner and may stay pale, pink or purplish for a long time. The same spot can tear again more easily, so protection still matters after the dressing comes off. Ask the treating clinician how to care for the area, and report any reopening early.

How often will the wound be looked at?

The treating clinician sets the schedule after the first assessment. It depends on the wound’s size and location, how much it drains, the dressing chosen and who is available to help between visits. Skin tears generally do better when they are not uncovered more than necessary, so fewer checks is not a sign of less care. If the wound changes, the schedule can change too.

Which Madison County towns does Gateway cover?

Gateway arranges care in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Collinsville, Granite City, Alton and Godfrey, and takes requests from other Madison County communities such as Maryville, Troy, Highland, Wood River and Bethalto. Availability is not identical everywhere. It is confirmed by location and care setting, so the simplest step is to call 314-325-0126 with the address and ask.

General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.