Color is generally clear to pale yellow (normal), red (fresh blood), brown (dried or old blood), white (see above), or blue-green (usually indicative of Pseudomonas infection and should be cultured).
Purulent Wound Drainage
Purulent drainage is a sign of infection. It's a white, yellow, or brown fluid and might be slightly thick in texture. It's made up of white blood cells trying to fight the infection, plus the residue from any bacteria pushed out of the wound.
Serous Drainage. Serous drainage is a clear to yellow fluid that leaks out of a wound. It's slightly thicker than water. It's the fluid that makes your bandage look and feel wet.
Healthy granulation tissue is pink in colour and is an indicator of healing. Unhealthy granulation is dark red in colour, often bleeds on contact, and may indicate the presence of wound infection. Such wounds should be cultured and treated in the light of microbiological results.
Whilst you are observing the wound, look for a red or pink colour – this shows it is healing effectively. Dark tissue, however, could be indicating an infection.
Redness. The area may be swollen, sore, and red in color right after you've sustained your injury. This is normal as blood is being sent to the area to supply oxygen and other nutrients for healing. But if the wound is still red and swollen after five days, it's a sign that your body is not healing correctly.
Pain. Pain is an essential indicator of poor wound healing and should not be underestimated. Pain can occur from the disease process, surgery, trauma, infection or as a result of dressing changes and poor wound management practices.
Serous (a clear yellow or straw colour) and haemoserous (light pink or red and watery) exudates are normally present in a wound. A purulent discharge (characterised by a viscous dull red, grey or greenish fluid) may signify infection especially if malodour is present.
Purulent Wound Drainage
Exudate that becomes a thick, milky liquid or a thick liquid that turns yellow, tan, gray, green, or brown is almost always a sign that infection is present. This drainage contains white blood cells, dead bacteria, wound debris, and inflammatory cells.
Serous drainage is composed mainly of plasma. It is often thin and watery and will usually have a clear to yellowish or brownish appearance.
Minimal amount of exudate: Exudate covers less than 25% of the size of the bandage. Moderate amount of drainage: Wound tissue is wet, and drainage covers 25% to 75% of the size of the bandage. Large or copious amount of drainage: Wound tissue is filled with fluid, and exudate covers more than 75% of the bandage.
A doctor might think there's an infection if there is pain, swelling, warmth, or redness around the wound, or if the drainage looks like pus. Wound infections can also cause a fever and a general ill feeling, especially if the infection spreads or has been present for a while.
Check the amount and color of drainage in the measuring container. The first couple of days after surgery, the fluid may be a dark red color. This is normal. As you continue to heal, it may look pink or pale yellow.
Drainage. Discharge of pus and blood is also a normal part of the process. Normal drainage is clear or yellow and signifies that your body is removing excess debris from the wound. If your drainage is cloudy, has a strong scent, or is tinged with red, this may indicate infection.
Wound healing can be delayed by factors local to the wound itself, including desiccation, infection or abnormal bacterial presence, maceration, necrosis, pressure, trauma, and edema. Desiccation.
Drainage can be (1) serous (clear and thin; may be present in a healthy, healing wound), (2) serosanguineous (containing blood; may also be present in a healthy, healing wound), (3) sanguineous (primarily blood), or (4) purulent (thick, white, and pus-like; may be indicative of infection and should be cultured).
The larger and deeper the scrape, the longer it will take to heal. A large, deep scrape may take up to 1 to 2 weeks or longer to heal. It's common to have small amounts of fluid drain or ooze from a scrape. This oozing usually clears up gradually and stops within 4 days.
Signs that a wound is not healing properly and may be infected include feeling warm to the touch, swelling, discharge or pus, long lasting pain, or fever.
Signs it's working: During this stage of healing, you may experience swelling, redness or pain while your wound heals. Your skin may also feel hot to the touch, and you may see a clear liquid around your wound. These are all signs that the inflammatory stage of wound healing is well underway.
Scabs can sometimes turn yellow as a wound heals. However, yellow scabs can sometimes indicate a skin infection, such as impetigo and cold sores. Although scabs are usually dark red, they can go through many color and texture changes while the wound is healing.
Serosanguineous drainage should last for a few days because it's part of the normal wound-healing process. Beyond that, drainage may be cause for concern.