What colors are wound drainage?

Color is generally clear to pale yellow (normal), red (fresh blood), brown (dried or old blood), white (see above), or blue-green (usually indicative of Pseudomonas infection and should be cultured). The amount of drainage is generally documented as absent, scant, minimal, moderate, large, or copious.

What color is infected drainage?

Purulent drainage is a sign of infection. It's a white, yellow, or brown fluid and might be slightly thick in texture.

What are the 5 types of wound drainage?

There are four types of wound drainage: serous, sanguineous, serosanguinous, and purulent. Serous drainage is clear, thin, and watery.

What color is serous drainage from a wound?

Serous drainage

It is often thin and watery and will usually have a clear to yellowish or brownish appearance. Small amounts of serous drainage are normal during the first stages of healing.

What does healthy wound drainage look like?

Normal wound drainage involves the discharge of thin, watery fluids that may be clear or contain tiny amounts of blood. Abnormal wound drainage is when the discharge is thick, bloody, or has a milky white, yellow, green, gray, or brown color (often with a foul smell).

Types of Wound Drainage

How do you tell if a wound is healing or infected?

What does serous wound drainage look like?

Serous drainage is mostly clear or slightly yellow thin plasma that is just a bit thicker than water. It can be seen in venous ulceration and also in partial-thickness wounds. Generally, this is not one of the types of wound drainage that leaves much color on a bandage.

What are the 4 types of wound drainage?

Drainage can be (1) serous (clear and thin; may be present in a healthy, healing wound), (2) serosanguineous (containing blood; may also be present in a healthy, healing wound), (3) sanguineous (primarily blood), or (4) purulent (thick, white, and pus-like; may be indicative of infection and should be cultured).

What are the four types of drainage?

These are dendritic, trellis, rectangular, and radial patterns.

Should I cover an oozing wound?

Once you stop the bleeding and clean the wound, you should apply a clean bandage. Here's why: Air dries out the wound and promotes cell death, not healing. Covering the wound maintains the natural moisture that helps keep cells alive.

How do you tell if a wound is infected?

What color should drain fluid be?

When you first get the drain, the fluid will be bloody. It will change colour from red to pink to a light yellow or clear as the wound heals and the fluid starts to go away.

What colour is abscess fluid?

An abscess is a collection of pus. Pus is a thick fluid that usually contains white blood cells, dead tissue and germs (bacteria). The pus may be yellow or green and may have a bad smell.

Is it good when an infected wound drains?

Evidence indicates that if a wound is not allowed to drain freely, blood, body fluids, pus, and necrotic material will collect in the wound, providing a growth medium for microorganisms. Surgical wound drainage is recognized as a key element in facilitating the healing process.

What to do if a wound keeps oozing?

Try an antiseptic cream, such as Savlon®. If the redness is spreading or the wound starts to ooze pus then see your doctor or nurse. If it is a larger wound and seems to be developing infection then see your doctor or nurse straightaway.

Why is liquid coming out of my wound?

A wound that's healing can produce a clear or pink fluid. An infected wound can produce a yellowish, bad-smelling fluid called pus. When fluid seeps from a wound, it is called wound drainage.

What color should a healing wound be?

Healthy granulation tissue is pink in colour and is an indicator of healing. Unhealthy granulation is dark red in colour, often bleeds on contact, and may indicate the presence of wound infection.

What color is serous exudate?

Serous drainage is a clear, thin, and watery exudate that typically appears during the inflammatory stage of wound healing.

How long does it take for a drainage wound to heal?

The wound will take about 1 to 2 weeks to heal, depending on the size of the abscess. Healthy tissue will grow from the bottom and sides of the opening until it seals over.

What do infected wounds look like?

There are a number of tell-tale signs that your cut may be infected: The surrounding area becomes red, and this area gets larger over time. The area surrounding the wound becomes swollen, tender to the touch, or painful. The wound weeps off-color or odorous fluid; this pus may be yellow, greenish, or cloudy.

How much drainage from a wound is normal?

Moderate amount of drainage: Wound tissue is wet, and drainage covers 25% to 75% of the size of the bandage. Large or copious amount of drainage: Wound tissue is filled with fluid, and exudate covers more than 75% of the bandage.

How much serous drainage is too much?

Moderate Drainage is anything between 25% and 75% saturation, indicative by soaked dressings. Copious Drainage is the most severe type of drainage, classified by 75% or more saturation. This level of drainage is almost always serious and requires medical attention.

What does poor wound healing look like?

Redness. The area may be swollen, sore, and red in color right after you've sustained your injury. This is normal as blood is being sent to the area to supply oxygen and other nutrients for healing. But if the wound is still red and swollen after five days, it's a sign that your body is not healing correctly.