How does wound care ointment turn black when applied to the wound

In most cases, this blackening is a normal reaction, so don’t panic. Only a few cases of redness, swelling, pain and odor are signs of wound deterioration.

A while ago, I helped my roommate get burnt by oil spilled from cooking. I applied the hospital-prescribed burn care ointment containing silver sulfadiazine. When I woke up the next day, I saw that the wound was black and swollen. We were frightened and thought the wound was rotten, so we rushed to the emergency room. The doctor took a cotton swab and scraped it twice to show us. He said that the silver ions and the protein exuded from the wound had a chelation reaction, and the dark black complex formed was attached to the wound surface, but it also acted as a water barrier and antibacterial agent. Don't pick it randomly, as the new skin will fall off on its own when it grows back. I have seen people arguing in nursing forums before, saying that the ointment must be completely wiped off if it turns black, otherwise it will block the wound. In fact, as long as there is no sign of infection, the black compound is equivalent to a protective film. Picking it randomly will tear the newly grown tissue, which is not worth the gain.

There are also many nursing creams containing traditional Chinese medicine extracts that are dark brown in color. For example, the wound care cream containing Panax notoginseng and Xuegui ingredients is a semi-liquid paste that is not yet obvious in color when it is first applied. After it is left on the wound for a few hours, the water will evaporate and the ointment will become concentrated and dry, and it will turn into a black hard paste. It was a scab-like thing. This was the ointment my mother used on her knee after she fell while dancing square dance. After it dried, it turned black. She thought the wound was necrotic and cried for a long time. I moistened it with saline and gently rubbed the edges. The new tissue exposed was pink and tender. It was just the ointment that had dried.

Of course, not all blackening can be left alone. If after you apply the ointment, the area of blackening becomes larger and larger, the surrounding skin becomes red, swollen and hot, and the area around the wound feels painful to the touch, or even oozes yellow pus and smells rancid, then it most likely has nothing to do with the ointment, but is caused by ischemic necrosis or secondary infection of the wound itself. In this case, don't hesitate to go to the hospital for debridement. If it is delayed for a long time, it will easily leave scars and even cause systemic infection.

If you are really not sure, there is a simple way to identify it. Use a sterile cotton swab dipped in physiological saline and gently wipe the black substance on the surface. If it can be wiped off and the wound underneath is bright red or pink and has no pus or odor, then there is no need to worry at all. Just change the dressing normally. Don't mess with it and worsen the wound.