Is there any way a wound that never heals yet doesn't kill the wounded exists? I don't mean it leaves a scar, i mean it doesn't heal beyond the point of making it stop bleeding.
It takes about three weeks for a wound to heal. If it takes longer than that it's because of bad treatment, infections, or any condition compromising blood flow. Skin ulcer can evolve to a chronic form, but it doesn't mean it lasts forever. An ulcer is classified after as chronic disease after twelve weeks. Poison and toxines can also compromise healing. Singray wounds are particularly slow to heal.
Let me add something here, at least about cuts. Many writers want their lead characters to be "perfect." If the guy's a mercenary he's always tall, beautiful to behold, trained in everything from kung fu to handrolling sushi, and his knives are always razor sharp. First off, "razor sharp" is a misnomer for lots of reasons. For one, a razor's edge is about 11 degrees, most field and folding knives are from 15 to 18 degrees. Extreme wilderness knives go over 20 degrees. A razor's edge is too fragile. To that, if a client brought his knife back and told me that it cut like a razor, I'd apologize and re-polish the edge. Just because a knife is constructed differently from a razor does not mean it cannot become just as keen, or even better. My knives are dangerous to check with your thumb, and I advise against it. Here's my point. A clean slice with a polished edge heals within days. When getting a mole removed in my doctor's office I found my pocketknife was sharper than his scalpel. If I nick myself when working, I only need a bandage until nightfall. So a perfect mercenary killer kung fu monk car-designer Kiwanis Club Member black-ops Navy SEAL dog catching outlander marginally flawed word processor Harry-Sue with a perfect hem on his kilt probably wouldn't want one of my knives. His foe would be treated with a butterfly bandage and be back in the fight by page three.
The wound i am writing about is not a wound from a knife or a bullet or something. It is along the lines of a wound from animal bite/claws/beak or something, an animal attack in general. So poison or toxins or whatever it is that would be preventing its healing are all acceptable.
Mythology depicts that a wound from an arrow dipped in the blood of an immortal centaur will not heal.
It depends on the dimensions of the wound. If it's a supernatural wound, that's a whole other kettle of fish, but I'm assuming you mean conventional wound that doesn't heal properly or cleanly. A wound that you describe from an animal would be jagged and uneven, and would not heal nearly as fast as a straight cut from a blade. There is also the possibility of poisoning or infection.
Yes, the animal i have in my mind is a bear-ish immortal and the wound would be either from the claws or from the teeth. Since mythology indicates immortal blood prevents the wound from healing i think i might use that (thank you Tourist!).
All non-healing wounds will eventually kill you. Typical non-healing wounds are from cancers, venous ulcers, staph infections, rare today but still happens, STDs. Any of these, if the underlying cause can be treated, will disappear. Wen they can't be treated, the person eventually succumbs to infection or the primary cause. A bite wound if it was not immediately treated, would most likely kill a person pretty quickly. Envenomation from snake bite will typically result in renal failure. But you could stretch this time to several years, if you are writing fantasy or a bit of sci fi. But there is no way for a person with a non-healing wound of any kind that we know off, to lead a long and healthy life. After a couple of years, body will succumb.
Robert Jordan could serve as a good example of the kind of wound you are trying to cauterize into your fiction. His main character Rand eventually suffers a super-natural wound that does not heal on its own. As for it eventually healing, the last book will tell, but he went through a good portion of the series with it impeding his ability some.
Jazzabel that is what i am counting on. While usually this kind of wound would kill him within one or two years at most, the character's innate ability makes him regenerate at an impossible pace forming a cycle between the infection and poisoning process and the healing that keeps those back. GoldenGhost you are referring to the Wheel of Time series, aren't you? While i liked it some, the kind of wound i am looking for is not supernatural but based on a kind of "science" that adheres to Merton's norms.
Sounds like you got the help you needed, but, bite wounds, particularly those from carnivores or scavengers, are prone to many infections and often leave giant holes that need to be patched over with skin grafts. I did a stint in a wild life rehab clinic and we got a lot of cat bites, which are really nasty for little furry critters.
Google Dr. William Beaumont on Mackinac Island. He had a patient with a stomach wound that wouldn't heal. He used that wound to test digestion times of different foods by dropping food directly in the stomach on a string.
Anyway, if it is a fantasy story with mythical-imagined creatures, then I think you can pull it off. The are many stories -examples don't come to mind- that had characters wounded or sported curses that lasted for long periods of time without killing them. Though, it would sound too mythical-fantasyish if said character doesn't eventually heal or die. But yes, such wounds can exist, it's your world and imagination, create it and write it convincingly to make me believe.
