Bio-Oil supports self-care for wounds to minimise scarring through new patient booklet

A new patient resource has launched in the UK offering primary care healthcare professionals (HCPs) the opportunity to help patients self-care for their wounds and minimise scarring.

The new patient booklet resource, 'Supporting you to care for wounds and to minimise scarring', created with help from expert Dermatologist, Justine Hextall, and supported by Bio-Oil, has been developed following research demonstrating the the frequency that HCP's are required to provide support to patients in primary care, with one in five (20%) being asked for advice on a weekly basis.

This is echoed by patients; a recent survey amongst 1,000 people living with scarring demonstrated that:

• 37% would like to receive verbal advice from a HCP, and 23% people would like to receive emotional support.
• A third (32.3%) would like to receive guidance on expectations of how their scar will change over time.
• Over a quarter (28.1%) would like their HCP to proactively offer advice on scarring.

The information in the resoource guide helps patients to understand how scars mature and change in appearance, what to expect and what they can do to help support the skin's natural healing process and minimise scarring.

Justine Hextall, Dermatologist, says:

Wound and scar management is an area that is increasingly being addressed by those primary health care professionals who deal with minor injuries throuhg to pre-operative wound care. This patient resource is valuable in helping to support them during these consultations and aids in the promotion of self-care to their patients. The resource has been created with the patient in mined, is concise, compact and light making it useful to take away and easy to understand, and a booklet that will be extremely useful to healthcare professionals and patients alike."

The new patient booklet resource, whichh is available free via the Bio-Oil Professional website, addresses key areas including:

• 'About you' patient note page for tailored healthcare professional advice
• The psychological and social impact of scars
• The types of scars, their appearance and how they mature
• The stages of scar formation with an explanation of the healing process
• How to minimise the appearance of scares with practical tips for self-care
• Scar management advice from experts including a dermatologist, psychologist and a patient