A chronic wound is a wound that does not heal in an orderly set of stages and in a predictable amount of time or wounds that do not heal within three months are often considered chronic. Chronic wounds often remain in the inflammatory stage for too long and may never heal or may take years. Chronic wound patients often report pain as dominant in their lives. Persistent pain is the main problem for patients with chronic ulcers. Many wounds pose no challenge to the body's innate ability to heal; some wounds, however, may not heal easily either because of the severity of the wounds themselves or because of the poor state of health of the individual.  Any wound that does not heal within a few weeks should be examined by a healthcare professional because it might be infected, might reflect an underlying disease.