Injury Update and Insurance

This is an update on a recent injury I sustained a puncture wound on my right foot. While being treated by the doctor at the emergency room I was thinking about medical insurance like accident insurance or health insurance (more on that later). I was also given instructions to clean the wound.

Fortunately, I was able to self-administer the instructions to treat the wound for a week.


Types of Wounds

During my Boy Scouting years, I learned different types of wounds for my First Aid merit badge. The ones I learned are Laceration, Puncture, and Abrasion. Laceration and Puncture wounds are shown below.


Abrasions are the common scrapes that we get and typically occur on the elbows and knees.

Now I learn that there's now Avulsion where a part of the flesh is lifted from the wound. Decapitation is classified as avulsion. Then there are also Burns which is now its own type of wound.

Phases of Wound Healing

Inflammation is when blood clots form, bacteria are attacked to prevent infection, and key biochemical cells gather at the site of the wound, causing it to swell. Inflammation begins almost immediately after injury, peaking at three to five days.


Then there is proliferation, when these key cells multiply at the wound site to make new tissue and blood vessels. Open wounds generally heal from the bottom up, as cells multiply to fill in the wound with new tissue.


Finally, there is the remodeling phase, where the wound is healed and the initial scar tissue is gradually restructured.

Three weeks after the accident, my wound has dried and I'm able to walk straighter now. There is still some pain though on the instep which is more likely still caused by some swelling.




The Need to Buy Health Insurance

This accident made me recall some episodes where a health maintenance card (HMO or medial insurance card) allowed me to avail of medical services without sacrificing an arm or leg. In the rehabilitation of my injured left shoulder, the extensive physical therapy was shouldered by the HMO card. I no longer recall the medical insurance company, but I suppose it's the same health insurance plan that handled the physical therapy for my back pain treatment.

I suppose that's one of the biggest benefits of being gainfully employed. I never had to worry about huge medical expenses then because the employer shoulders the health insurance premiums. Maybe it's time to compare medical insurance. There are many. There's Aetna Medical Insurance, Humana Medical Insurance, Christian Medical Insurance and other major medical insurance companies.

At this age, the body's wear and tear is becoming more obvious. A healthy lifestyle certainly needs to be observed and practiced. And a sound health insurance plan should put future worries to rest.