The impact of smoking on wound healing: the role of the nurse.

Smoking is known to have a deleterious effect on health in general and on wound healing in particular. Poor oxygenation and the impact of the impurities contained in cigarette smoke interfere with wound healing. It is the role of the nurse when caring for a person with a wound to treat them in a holistic manner, which includes encouraging and supporting patients who smoke to stop doing so. This paper looks at the evidence surrounding disrupted wound healing in patients who smoke and identifies why nurses should help them quit. It also identifies some of the strategies nurses might employ to aid smoking cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]