Topical Wound Care
Assessment and treatment of minor wounds, with topical prescriptions when they’re needed — including care for sore, cracked nipples while breastfeeding.
At a glance
- Visit fee
- $65
- Referral
- Not needed
- Prescriptions
- To any pharmacy
- Prescriber
- Registered Nurse, CNO-authorized
- Where
- Your home, Brooklin & Durham
Is this for you?
Good reasons to book.
- A cut, scrape or blister that isn’t healing the way it should.
- A wound with odour that you’d like managed with the right topical treatment.
- Cracked, painful nipples while breastfeeding.
- A healing surgical incision that needs checking and fresh dressings.
- You want someone to look at it before it becomes a bigger problem.
What to expect
Your visit, step by step.
Have a look
How it happened, how long it’s been, your health history and anything that slows healing.
Clean and assess
Gentle cleaning, measurement and a check for signs of infection that would change the plan — or mean a referral.
Treatment
The right dressing, a topical prescription when one is needed, and a schedule for changes.
Follow-up
A recheck so we know it’s healing, and clear red flags for when to stop waiting and get urgent care.
Scope
What we can do here — and where we draw the line.
Everything in the first column is within what an Ontario RN prescriber may do. The second column is where we refer you on, without delay.
RN prescribing is regulated by the College of Nurses of Ontario. Any nurse’s prescribing authorization can be checked on the CNO’s public register, Find a Nurse.
Within our scope
- Assess minor wounds, skin tears and superficial infections and dress them properly.
- Prescribe topical antibiotics where there are signs of a superficial infection.
- Prescribe topical metronidazole to manage odour from a wound.
- Prescribe the combination ointment used for cracked nipples during breastfeeding (betamethasone, mupirocin and miconazole), and talk through latch and positioning.
- Use topical anesthetic to make wound care more comfortable.
- Check and dress a healing surgical incision at home, following your surgical team’s instructions.
- Check whether you’re due for a tetanus booster, and give it at home if you are.
- Teach you how to care for the wound at home and when to come back or seek urgent care.
Outside our scope
- Oral antibiotics are not within RN prescribing. A wound with spreading redness, fever or deep infection needs urgent medical care — we’ll tell you plainly and send you to the right place.
- Deep, infected or chronic wounds (diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, venous ulcers) need a wound-care team and often testing; we’ll refer rather than treat beyond our scope.
- Wounds that need stitches, and deep or dirty wounds that may need tetanus immune globulin, belong in urgent care or the emergency department.
Emergencies — trouble breathing, chest pain, heavy bleeding, a severe allergic reaction — need 911 or the nearest emergency department, not an appointment.
Fees
What this costs.
RN prescriber visits are not OHIP-insured. The prescription itself is filled at your pharmacy and covered by your drug plan as usual.
-
Wound care visit $65
Assessment, cleaning, dressing and a topical prescription where needed. Dressing supplies included for the visit.
-
Follow-up visit $45
Up to 15 minutes, for a check-in or adjustment after an initial visit.
Ready to book?
- Send a request and we confirm a time within one business day.
- We come to you: home visits across Brooklin, Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax and Pickering, travel included.
- Questions first? hello@choicewellness.ca
Can you prescribe antibiotics for an infected wound?
Topical antibiotics, yes. Oral antibiotics are outside RN prescribing, so a wound with spreading infection, fever or deeper involvement needs a physician or nurse practitioner — quickly. We won’t delay that referral.
Do you treat breastfeeding nipple pain?
Yes. The all-purpose combination ointment for cracked nipples is specifically listed in the RN prescribing regulation. We also look at latch and positioning, because treating the skin without the cause rarely works.
Do I need a tetanus shot?
Possibly. For a clean, minor wound, adults need a booster if it’s been more than 10 years since the last one; for a dirtier wound, more than 5. We check your record and give the booster at home if you need it. If you never finished your childhood tetanus shots and the wound is deep or dirty, you may also need immune globulin, which means urgent care.
Should I go to the ER instead?
Go straight to urgent care or emergency for deep wounds, wounds that won’t stop bleeding, animal or human bites, wounds with embedded objects, or any sign of spreading infection or fever.
Ready when you are
Request a home visit for wound care
Tell us what you need and we’ll reply within one business day with a time — then we come to you. No referral, no waiting room.