The skin is the body’s best protection against infection. So once there’s a break in the skin in the form of a cut or wound, chances for infection are much higher. But just because your wound causes discomfort and appears red and swollen doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s infected. Discomfort, redness and swelling are typical signs of the body’s response once trauma is inflicted. How can you differentiate between the body’s normal response to trauma and the body’s inflammatory response to infection?