WHEN A KID gets a scrape, a kiss from their grown-up and a day or two with a bandage is usually all that’s needed. When it happens to an adult, it takes more time to heal—in fact, a 40-year-old’s wound can take twice as long as the identical wound on a 20-year-old. And the process slows more the older you get.
We’re all familiar with this phenomenon, of course, but you might wonder what’s behind it. “We actually don’t have a complete answer,” admits Dr. Dennis Orgill, medical director of the Wound Care Center at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But in my experience, it’s a slow decline from birth on.” That delay in healing can put us at higher risk for infection and prolonged pain.
To repair a wound, the body embarks on a complicated and spectacular process, recruiting a variety of cells to work together to stop the bleeding, then restore and rebuild the skin. And as we age, changes in our bodies can disrupt that process.
Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Reader's Digest Canada.
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Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Reader's Digest Canada.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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