What may increase your risk for problems from a cut, bite, or other skin injury?
Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your doctor.
Conditions
- A problem or condition present since birth (congenital defect)
- Age older than 60
- Artificial joint or heart valve
- Skin injury while travelling in another country
- Child younger than 6 months old
- Malnutrition
- Obesity
- Previous surgery to remove the lymph nodes near the skin injury
- Previous similar injury
- Previous surgery to injured area
- Previous surgery to remove the spleen
- Swelling (edema) in the limb where the injury occurred
- Unknown or uncertain tetanus immunization history
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal
- Smoking or other tobacco use
Medicines
- Anticoagulants, such as ASA, heparin, and warfarin (Coumadin)
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
- Medications to prevent organ transplant rejection
- Medications used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
- Radiation therapy
Diseases
- Anemia
- An eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa
- Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus
- Bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia or von Willebrand's disease
- Cancer
- Decreased blood flow, such as venous insufficiency or peripheral arterial disease
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteomyelitis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sickle cell disease
| Author: | Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC | Last Updated: August 28, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine | |
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