Joanne Dudley Drake who lives in Kent sent us this picture of her Mum’s skin tear after her 14-month-old daughter tripped and fell head first on to her leg.
Joanne’s Mum has very thin skin. She is only in her 60s but has been on steroids for several years. Thin skin is known to be caused naturally by ageing and is a side-effect of long-term steroid use. People with thin skin are very vulnerable to suffering skin tears, also known as skin flaps.
She was in absolute agony so Joanne rushed her to Accident and Emergency where her wound was dealt with very professionally in three hours.
This was the third skin tear that she had suffered in a period of a year. Both previous ones were on her arm, one when her granddaughter’s high chair tray dropped down on to her right arm and caused a similar injury by stripping the skin off. The other one was caused by catching her arm on a door latch.
This is a picture of the wound after the Accident & Emergency treatment. The edges of the skin have to grow back together again, this could take a long time.
Joanne has now bought Dermatuff Thin Skin Protection Sleeves & Socks to prevent her Mum from having any further such injuries.