Slowly Healing Wounds

If a wound has not healed considerably in four weeks or completely in eight weeks, it is considered chronic. A chronic wound is a skin wound that does not heal, heals slowly, or heals but recurs.

Wounds heal more slowly when vitamin C deficiency slows the rate of collagen formation. People with chronic, non-healing leg ulcers are considerably more likely to be vitamin C deficient than those without chronic leg ulcers, according to research. Old wounds may reopen in severe cases of vitamin C deficiency, increasing the risk of infection. Slow wound healing is one of the most advanced signs of deficiency, and it is usually not seen until after a patient has been deficient for a long time.