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 Because Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege |
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| Cold-Related Injuries HEALING HANDS ARTICLES Healing Hands | December 2007 | Exposure-Related Conditions: Symptoms and Prevention Strategies  CASE REPORT: TRENCH FOOT IN A HOMELESS WOMAN Because of exposure to inclement weather, cold-related injuries are common among homeless people. This case report describes a cold-related tissue injury that health care practitioners who treat homeless clients may overlook: Trench foot. A preventable condition, trench foot may go unrecognized and untreated since it occurs at above-freezing temperatures. The sequelae of unrecognized and untreated trench foot can be dire. In this case, a 48-year-old single African American female presented to a homeless shelter health clinic with painful feet. She had been caught in a freezing ran, and her socks and boots became wet. Lacking a change of footwear, she had been wearing them for three days. The client was diagnosed with trench foot and treated in accordance with CDC guidelines. After one week, her feet showed significant improvement. THE HEALTH CARE OF HOMELESS PERSONS This easy to use and read manual is designed for clinicians and shelter staff. Sections cover communicable diseases and infections, major medications, heat-related conditions and cold-related injuries, emerging challenges, management of chronic illnesses, immunizations, food management in shelters and soup kitchens, and fact sheets in English and Spanish for clients. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Hypothermia, Frostbite and other Cold Injuries: Prevention, Survival, Rescue and Treatment. Second Edition. Gordon G. Giesbrecht PhD and James A. Wilkerson MD. Seattle: The Mountaineers Books; 2006. |