MadSci Network: Medicine |
Really a good question. Healing is mainly mediated by local blood supply. The more blood your wound receives, the quicker it will heal. This explains why, among patients with peripheral arteritic diseases (such as diabetes mellitus or smoking induced arteritis), a "little" wound on the skin will need more time to heal than among normal patients. Regarding the question of sleep, I do not see any link between being awake or asleep, and the speed of healing. But you have to keep in mind what happens for patients who undergo very long operations (over 6 hours duration) or patients in critical state who are sedated (put asleep) for days. If they remain in the same position for days, the body weight will squeeze the skin in contact with the bed or the operating table, the blood supply to the skin will be dramatically reduced, and a wound (e.g. a surgical scar) will not heal. Hope this helps. Luc Luc Ronchi, MD Ped Anasthesia Hopital de Saint Nazaire, France
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