Wound healing involves four stages: homeostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling.
When the skin is injured, it creates a wound.
It usually takes about four to six weeks for most wounds to heal.
PonyWang / Getty Images
PonyWang / Getty Images
Stages (or Phases) of Wound Healing
1.
Homeostasis
Homeostasisis the first stage of wound healing.
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Reproduced with permission from © DermNetdermnetnz.org2023.
Reproduced with permission from DermNetdermnetnz.org2023.
Inflammation
Inflammationbegins once bleeding is controlled.
It starts when inflammatorywhite blood cellsmove to the wound.
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The second stage of healing may begin within the first day of injury and last up to two weeks.
Proliferation
The body begins to rebuild the wounded skin during proliferation, the third healing phase.
Proliferation occurs after and overlaps with inflammation.
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It should not easily bleed, and it also may have an uneven texture.
Epithelial (skin) cells create a new surface over the wound.
This process is faster when thewoundis kept clean and moist.
Remodeling
Remodeling is the last phase of the wound-healing process.
This phase usually starts around three weeks after the injury and continues for a year or longer.
The skin can look scarred and is not as strong as uninjured skin.
At first, they can be bright red and look raw.
Once the bleeding stops, scabs form, and the wound may look dark red to almost black.
There may be some clear fluid oozing from the wound.
Once new skin tissue forms, the wound closes and eventually forms a scar.
Types of Skin Wounds
There are numerous types of skin wounds.
Often, the wound has not been appropriately treated, or there are underlying factors causing the slow healing.
The provider may need todebridethe wound, which involves removing dead tissue and bacteria.
After that, they apply a wound dressing to absorb drainage and reduce the risk of infection.
Each phase has its unique purpose and can overlap with other phases.
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