Wound healing increases the need for nutrients in those patients. Any deficiency in a macro- or micronutrient can become a limiting factor for tissue formation. In addition, the risk of malnutrition is especially increased in the elderly and those in need of care. Therefore, ideally, the patient's nutritional status should be ascertained and an individual nutrition and diet plan should be implemented based on the results.
In everyday life, this might not always be easy to implement due to the patient's personal living conditions or other factors. In these cases, supplementation of important macro- and micronutrients can be helpful. The supplementation should take into account the aforementioned requirements for nutrition that supporting wound healing processes and be tailored to them.
Above all, the protein requirement is increased by all types of wounds and should be taken into account in the diet. Very large wounds or wounds that lose a lot of wound fluid (exudate) might even have a greatly increased protein requirement. It is in the responsibility of the physician or wound expert to assess the wound situation and adjust the protein supply. The general state of health of the patient must also be taken into account. Patients with impaired kidney function need e.g. an adapted diet and should not take in large amounts of protein.
