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Are Zinc Wraps Available Without Prescription And Can They Be Wrapped Without Any Help?
Legs swell up and skin breaks open weeping water. Had doppler done on legs all is okay. Had legs wrapped in zinc wrap and compression wraps. Seem to stop sores from appearing healed the ones that where on legs. Wraps have been off 2 weeks. Last night left leg had a large water blister appear and broke open. Now have 2 sores on left leg. Can I get zinc wraps myself and wrap legs?
Sat, 18 Jan 2014
Hi There, Thanks for your Question! My name is Vinay. Let me see if I can help you here.
Zinc has been studied under Lab conditions and it has been shown in a few studies to help in cleaning out dead tissue from burn wounds. This activity has been shown to bring down inflammation in the long run. (Ref: WOUNDS 1998;10(2):54-58).
A lot of this research is commercial but nevertheless in my own experience Zinc and Zinc Alginate dressings have helped in the management of burns and surgical wounds.
Now My main problem with recommending their use in your case (and yes, they are available OTC online on most commercial shopping sites), is that I don't know whats causing the problem.
When did this leg swelling begin? Does the skin get red and warm when it breaks up (Do you have cellulitis? A skin infection)? Can you describe the water that is weeping out?
I'm sure you're not going to want to have to deal with all of these questions on your own. So before you buy Zinc dressings online (and yes, if I were you and I was sure of what was wrong with my legs.. I'd buy those dressings), I would suggest that you give your doctor a call. Maybe speak to the Nurse Practitioner over the phone and explain whats going on with the wounds.
They may actually want you to come back to the office to see them for themselves and make sure there is no infection present.
If not, if they say that they're not worried and you can follow up on a regular basis.. Then try out the Zinc dressings.. Just don't use them everyday. I recommend cycling them with plain dressings and also allowing the skin on your legs to remain unwrapped for several hours a day.
Good wound care is best done with your doctor at the office or the hospital.. But i'm hoping some of the information here has helped. Feel free to contact me through HCM if you feel that I can help you in any way.
Zinc has been studied under Lab conditions and it has been shown in a few studies to help in cleaning out dead tissue from burn wounds. This activity has been shown to bring down inflammation in the long run. (Ref: WOUNDS 1998;10(2):54-58).
A lot of this research is commercial but nevertheless in my own experience Zinc and Zinc Alginate dressings have helped in the management of burns and surgical wounds.
Now My main problem with recommending their use in your case (and yes, they are available OTC online on most commercial shopping sites), is that I don't know whats causing the problem.
When did this leg swelling begin? Does the skin get red and warm when it breaks up (Do you have cellulitis? A skin infection)? Can you describe the water that is weeping out?
I'm sure you're not going to want to have to deal with all of these questions on your own. So before you buy Zinc dressings online (and yes, if I were you and I was sure of what was wrong with my legs.. I'd buy those dressings), I would suggest that you give your doctor a call. Maybe speak to the Nurse Practitioner over the phone and explain whats going on with the wounds.
They may actually want you to come back to the office to see them for themselves and make sure there is no infection present.
If not, if they say that they're not worried and you can follow up on a regular basis.. Then try out the Zinc dressings.. Just don't use them everyday. I recommend cycling them with plain dressings and also allowing the skin on your legs to remain unwrapped for several hours a day.
Good wound care is best done with your doctor at the office or the hospital.. But i'm hoping some of the information here has helped. Feel free to contact me through HCM if you feel that I can help you in any way.
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