A 28-year-old male patient at your clinic reports a minor motorcycle accident that occurred 5 days ago, resulting in several scrapes and wounds. The wound on his calf has a pinkish-red center area that appears bumpy. What does this indicate about the wound?

Choice A rationale
Cleaning directly over the wound with a swab could be harmful as it may disrupt the healing tissue. This method does not follow the principles of medical asepsis, which aim to reduce the risk of infection and promote wound healing.

Choice B rationale
The correct technique for cleaning a wound is to use a swab in a circular motion starting at the center and moving outward. This method helps to prevent recontamination of the clean area and is consistent with aseptic principles, ensuring that any contamination is moved away from the wound, not towards it.

Choice C rationale
Cleaning from the outer abdomen toward the wound could potentially bring contaminants from the less clean abdomen into the sterile area of the wound. This would increase the risk of infection and is not the recommended practice.

Choice D rationale
Swabbing from one side to the other across the wound does not ensure that contaminants are moved away from the wound area. It could spread bacteria across the surface, which is not conducive to proper wound care.

Choice A rationale
Prolonged immobility can indeed cause swelling due to fluid accumulation; however, it typically does not lead to sudden worsening or significant swelling at a specific wound site. It is more associated with generalized edema, particularly in dependent areas of the body.

Choice B rationale
While infections can cause swelling, they are also accompanied by other signs such as redness, warmth, pain, and possibly fever. Swelling alone, without these other symptoms, is less indicative of an infection.

Choice C rationale
A deeper injury might cause swelling, but this would have been identified during the initial assessment. Swelling that occurs later in the healing process is less likely to be from a deeper, previously unnoticed injury.

Choice D rationale
Swelling at a wound site is often due to inflammation, where blood vessels dilate and become more permeable, allowing plasma to leak into the tissue. This is a normal part of the healing process as the body brings in necessary cells and substances to promote recovery.