Wound Care 101
A zine about taking care of drug related wounds.
testRI and PPHC have produced a zine on how to care for drug related wounds — especially with xylazine in the supply, which can present wounds in a new and concerning way. Download the .pdf or read it below to learn more.
For your own printing; materials are available here — in booklet form and in foldable single page form.
ALT TEXT: A large black circle with white text thats WOUND CARE 101. In balck text underneath it are the authors names: Claire Macon and Abdullah Shihipar
ALT TEXT: WOUND CARE 101
PAGE 2
WOUND PREVENTION FOR INJECTION DRUG USE
(clockwise)
Circle with an icon of a needle in it: use sterile supplies (one needle, one use)
Circle with an icon of a clean shining surface: use a clean or temporary surfaces
Circle with an icon of two arrows in a cycle: rotate injection sites
Circle with an icon of someone washing with a cloth: clean the injection site before and after.
ALT TEXT: WOUND CARE 101
WHAT’S IN MY BAG
PAGE 3
from clockwise:
Antibiotic Ointment
Sterile Saline Solution
Bandages
Bandaids
Gauze
Gloves (medical gloves)
ALT TEXT: WOUND CARE 101
BASIC TIPS OF WOUND CARE
PAGE 4
- Wash hands with soap and water before touching wounds. Icon to the right shows someone washing their hands
- [icon of thermometer] Assess the wound for skin temperature (if warm or hot), [icon of waves] loss or change in feeling (like pulsing or pins & needles)
If there are changes in temp/feeling, seek medical attention!
[An arm is stretched with palm facing the sky. On the arm is a wound with multiple red/black/brown holes and a reddish brown rash around them.]
3. Wash wound gently with soap and water or saline solution at least every two days.
[An arm is stretched with palm facing the sky. On the arm is a wound with multiple red/black/brown holes and a reddish brown rash around them. A spray of saline is seeing spraying solution on to the wound, while a hand washes the wound]
ALT TEXT: WOUND CARE 101
BASIC TIPS OF WOUND CARE
PAGE 5
4. Put ointment on gauze to cover wound and then wrap with ace bandage or coban. Change dressing on wound every 1–3 days.
[Ointment is applied from a tube of ointment on to pieces of white gauze which is then laid on to the wound]
Avoid using alcohol/hydrogen peroxide on wounds as this can slow healing.
[Red x symbol next two bottles of rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide]
5. Keep wounds dry and clean with fresh dressings regularly.
[Ointment is applied from a tube of ointment on to pieces of white gauze which is then laid on to the wound
6. Wounds heal from the inside out! Avoid creating additional irritation around the wound site by avoiding injection into areas around the wound.
[A needle is seeing pointed away from the arm — with the words dont inject near the wound!]
Every wound is different. If things aren’t improving, seek medical care.
ALT TEXT: WOUND CARE 101
XYLAZINE SPECIFIC WOUND CARE
PAGE 6
BLACK BOX [What is Xylazine (zai-luh-zeen)?]
Xylazine is a long acting veterinary sedative.
Xylazine is present in the local drug supply
and has always been found alongside fentanyl.
If you’re using, there is a chance xylazine is
in your supply.
BLACK BOX [How to spot a xylazine wound]
Can start as a purple-red blister and may
progress to a dry /dark scab, or an ulcer. It
may be around the site of injection, but can
sometimes be found elsewhere on the body.
[small wound, an arrow pointing to the right, a wound with multiple red/black/brown holes and a reddish brown rash around them]
BLACK RECTANGLE [How are xylazine wounds different from other abscesses and wounds?]
[Image of a person with black spots around their body to show wound sites differing from area of injection]
Wounds may occur outside of sites of injection.
[image of a pipe to imply smoking, and an icon to represent snorting]
There are reports of wounds in individuals with use practices that
do not include injection use (e.g., snorting, smoking)
Wounds associated with xylazine are most often reported to occur on arms and legs, but can occur at other locations.
ALT TEXT: WOUND CARE 101
RED FLAGS
PAGE 7
Seek medical care if
[icon of people shivering and having a fever] — you have fever or chills
[icon of a clock going clockwise] — wounds that won’t heal
after some time
[icon of green slime] — thick and/or smelly green or yellow drainage from wound site
[icon of person having knee pain] — severe pain or decreased ability to move joint near wound
[icon of joint bone] — exposed bone or tendon
[icon of hand tingling] — new numbness or tingling
[icon of arm with wounds, one wound is black, the other wound is blue] — skin turns blue or black
[icon of hand with spots on it] — pieces of tissue fall off
ALT TEXT:
Thank you to the TESTRI Community Advisory Board for their input into this zine.
“Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island, on lands that are within the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. We acknowledge that beginning with colonization and continuing for centuries the Narragansett Indian Tribe have been dispossessed of most of their ancestral lands in Rhode Island by the actions of individuals and institutions. We acknowledge our responsibility to understand and respond to those actions. The Narragansett Indian Tribe, whose ancestors stewarded these lands with great care, continues as a sovereign nation today. We commit to working together to honor our past and build our future with truth.”
