Acute Inflammation

Acute inflammation is a brief response to injury or illness that lasts for a short period. It is a normal action for your body to take when it incurs injury and falls out of homeostasis. The acute inflammation is the result of cytokines signaling the release of plasma proteins, white blood cells, and capillaries near the injury to expand (Heuther & McCance, 2011). The plasma proteins cover a wide range of duties. They serve to stop bleeding and fight off pathogens. This is one of the bodies defense against infections. White blood cells also work to prevent infection through the eradication of pathogens. The capillaries opening serve as a highway for immediate response. The enlarged capillaries allow an increased flow of fluids to the site, such as the plasma proteins and white blood cells, which results in edema of the local area. All these actions serve to fight off infection and …show more content…
Chronic inflammation the result of this response being unable to return the body to homeostasis, and all of the bodily responses from acute inflammation continuing to try and pacify the situation. Chronic inflammation in a patient can result from the failure of a foreign body (glass, splinters, etc.) being removed. It can also occur from an insufficient immune response in acute inflammation resulting in difficulty eradicating all of the pathogens that caused the infection. Considerations that should be made on a patient to patient basis are whether or not utilizing the use of dressings, topical antibiotics, systemic antibiotics, need for splinting, and evaluation of tetanus status (Tintinalli & Stapczynski, 2011). Immune suppression is the only real treatment for the chronic inflammation itself; consideration must also be given to diseases that can enhance and perpetuate the inflammatory response (Eming , Krieg, & Davidson,