A wound that won't close usually has more than one reason behind it.
A cut on the hand, a wound on the foot or leg, a sore or a scab that won't heal — six things commonly hold a wound back, and most people have only checked four. This page walks through all six, and what to ask your doctor at the next dressing change.
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. It is not a substitute for seeing your doctor or wound-care nurse.
Different wound, same question
A cut, a sore, a scab, a wound that won't heal
Whatever it looks like, the question underneath is the same: why won't it close? Wherever the wound is, the answer usually comes down to one of six things.
A wound on the foot that won't heal — on the sole, toe or heel, in someone on their feet or bedridden.
A wound or ulcer on the leg that keeps not closing, or closes and re-opens.
A cut on the hand or any small cut that's stayed open far longer than it should.
A scab or a sore that won't heal, keeps weeping, or scabs over and breaks down again.
If there's diabetes in the picture, wounds heal more slowly for a specific reason — that's one of the six below.
Wherever it is and whatever it's called, a wound that's stalled is stalled for a reason. Here are the six most common ones.
How long is too long?
A wound that is doing well gets visibly smaller week on week. Clinicians generally start calling a wound "chronic" or "stalled" when it hasn't made meaningful progress in about four weeks of appropriate care — that's the point at which the usual advice is to stop repeating the same plan and start looking for what's blocking it.
Illustrative only — every wound and every person is different. Your clinician decides what progress should look like in your case.
If you are past that four-week mark, the question worth asking is no longer "is the dressing right?" — it's "what else is in the way?"
Six reasons a wound stops closing
Rarely just one. More often two or three at the same time — which is why fixing only the dressing so often changes nothing.
Not enough blood reaching it
New tissue needs oxygen delivered by the smallest vessels. Narrowed arteries, swelling or ongoing pressure can quietly starve the wound edge.
Ask: has the circulation to this limb been assessed?
Low-grade infection
A wound doesn't have to look dramatic to be colonised. A persistent bacterial load can hold it in the inflammatory phase for months.
Ask: should this be swabbed, and does the wound bed need cleaning up?
The cause is still there
Weight still going through the foot, the heel still resting on the mattress, the leg still congested. If the original force hasn't been removed, the wound keeps re-injuring.
Ask: is the pressure genuinely off it, 24 hours a day?
Blood sugar running high
Sustained high glucose interferes with several steps of repair at once, including how well the body handles bacteria at the wound site.
Ask: what is the recent HbA1c, and is it where it should be?
Moisture balance is off
Too dry and cells can't migrate. Too wet and the surrounding skin breaks down. The right dressing changes as the wound changes.
Ask: does this dressing still match how much fluid it's producing?
The raw materials have run short
Closing a wound is a building job. It draws steadily on protein and specific micronutrients. Illness, poor appetite, age and a long recovery all pull that supply down — and this is the one nobody checks.
Ask: should we look at protein and micronutrient status?
First — is this actually urgent?
Before anything else on this page, check for these. If you see any of them, contact your doctor or go to hospital today. Don't wait for the next scheduled dressing change.
- Redness spreading outward from the wound
- Fever, chills, or feeling generally unwell
- Pain suddenly increasing
- Foul smell, or discharge that has changed
- Black or darkening tissue at or around the wound
- The wound getting rapidly larger or deeper
- New numbness, coldness or colour change in the limb
- Confusion or drowsiness in an elderly person
Nutrition is a slow, supporting piece of the picture. It is never the answer to any of the signs above.
Take these questions to your next appointment
A stalled wound usually needs a different conversation, not a longer one. These seven questions cover the six blockers above.
Checklist for the next dressing change
Has the blood supply to this area been checked? If not, what would that involve?
Do you think there's infection in this wound? Does it need a swab, or debridement?
Is the pressure fully off it? At night as well as during the day?
What was the last HbA1c, and does the diabetes plan need changing while this wound is open?
Is this still the right dressing for how the wound has changed?
Should we look at nutritional status — protein intake, weight loss, appetite, micronutrients?
What should improvement look like by the next review, and what do we change if it doesn't happen?
That last question matters most. A wound plan without a review date is how months pass.
Not sure which of the six applies?
Send us a short message describing the wound, how long it's been open and what care is already in place. We'll tell you plainly where nutrition may be relevant — and where it isn't, and you need your clinician instead.
Message us on WhatsAppWe are not a medical service and cannot diagnose. For anything clinical we will tell you to speak to your doctor.
Where a daily nutrition sachet fits
Five of the six blockers are your clinician's to solve. The sixth — the raw materials — is the one that mostly sits with you at home. Epithrive is a once-a-day nutritional adjunct built around the nutrients tissue repair draws on, mixed in water and taken alongside the existing wound-care plan.
Arginine and glutamine
Amino acids the body uses in blood-flow signalling, immune function and collagen formation — three of the processes a stalled wound depends on.
Marine collagen peptides
The protein raw material new tissue is built from. An open wound raises protein demand well above a normal daily baseline.
Targeted micronutrients
The cofactors the body works through during repair — including zinc, vitamin C, copper and others.
Every stage of repair draws on the same supply
One sachet a day, mixed in water. Designed to sit alongside standard wound care — not to replace any part of it.
Grounded in published nutrition research
The approach is built on peer-reviewed research into the individual nutrients involved in tissue repair.
Arginine & wound healing
Arribas-López et al., 2021 — review
Collagen peptides & tissue repair
Sato, 2018
Collagen peptide absorption
Shigemura, 2009
Zinc in wound healing
Lin et al., 2017
Micronutrients in wound care
Moores, 2013
These studies examine the individual nutrients, not the finished product. Epithrive is a nutritional adjunct to standard wound care and is not a treatment for any condition.
Common questions
How long should a wound normally take to close?
When is a wound called chronic?
Can nutrition alone close a wound that's been stuck for months?
What is Epithrive, exactly?
Can it be taken alongside other medicines?
How is it taken, and how long does a box last?
Epithrive — Daily Wound-Care Nutrition
How many boxes?
10 days of supply · 1 box
Contains fish-derived collagen. Not suitable if there is a fish allergy. Consult your doctor before use in kidney disease, pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Two ways forward
Take the checklist to your clinician — that part costs nothing. And if the nutrition question is the one that hasn't been looked at yet, start the daily course alongside the care already in place. Cash on delivery is available, and every order is confirmed on WhatsApp before it ships.