Wound Care & Minor Procedures in West Palm Beach, FL

What to expect

• Describe the wound, when it happened, and anything that has made it worse
• Your provider examines it and explains what it needs before anything is done
• Written instructions for caring for it at home and for what to watch
• A follow-up visit, scheduled when your provider wants to see how it is healing

Who heals more slowly, according to MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus says people are more likely to get a skin infection if they have poor circulation, have diabetes, are older, or have a weakened immune system, and that germs often enter through a break, cut, or wound in the skin. That is a reason to bring up your medical history whenever you have a wound, and it is why a primary care office with your chart is a sensible place to have one looked at.

What an abscess visit looks like

An abscess is a painful, swollen collection of pus under the skin. Some can be drained in the office, and your provider decides at the visit whether yours should be, based on what the examination shows. Do not try to squeeze or open one yourself. Bring your medicine list and tell the provider if you have diabetes, because a skin infection can matter more when blood sugar is hard to control.

Keeping the follow-up visit

A wound is not finished when the stitches go in. The visit that checks healing, or removes stitches, is where a provider can catch redness spreading or drainage that should not be there. Put the follow-up on your calendar before you leave, and call sooner if the area becomes more painful, warm, or swollen than when you were first seen.

Seeing a physician in your own language

Dr. Akhter speaks Bengali, English, Hindi, and Urdu. Describing how an injury happened, and following home-care instructions precisely, is easier in the language you use at home. Mention your preference when you call so the visit can be planned around it, and bring a family member if they help with your care.

Where the office is and who comes

The Forest Hill Blvd office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Patients come from Palm Springs, Greenacres, Lake Worth, and Wellington, which has no office of its own. If your wound is near the western side of the county, the practice also offers these procedures at the Loxahatchee office.

Wound care next to the rest of your care

A wound visit can lead into something larger. Patients with diabetes may want to review diabetes management, and anyone due for a checkup can ask about an annual physical at the same office. The practice's wound care overview describes the service across locations.

What this page does not say

It does not diagnose a wound or promise a result. Whether a cut needs stitches or an abscess needs draining is your provider's decision after an examination. For bleeding that will not stop, a wound with an object in it, or any injury after a serious accident, call 911 or go to an emergency room.

Who you'll see in West Palm Beach

Dr. Shahnaz Akhter, MD

Physician — West Palm Beach

Sources

• MedlinePlus — Skin Infections

Also offered at our West Palm Beach office

• Family & Internal Medicine
• Hormone Therapy & PRP Treatments
• Preventive Care & Chronic Disease Management
• Diabetes Management
• Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) Management
• Joint Injections
• Thyroid Care

See Wound Care & Minor Procedures across all our offices, or view the full West Palm Beach office page.