Minimising Pain

Any wound is painful, but long-standing wounds like leg ulcers can become increasingly painful. These wounds tend to hurt all the time, with the pain becoming more intense whenever the wound is touched, for instance during dressing changes.

It is during dressing changes that the delicate tissue in the base of the wound and the newly healed skin around the wound are most vulnerable to damage, but there is a lot that you and your healthcare professional can do to make dressing changes less painful and less likely to cause damage.