Wound dressings are placed over the wound in order to protect it from foreign objects that may interfere with the healing process by causing infections.
In addition to preventing infections, certain types of wound dressing are designed with additional objectives in mind. These additional objectives may include:
There are several different types of dressing on the market today and each category has its own specific strengths and weaknesses. Choosing the appropriate dressing in any situation is therefore a matter of understanding the priority needs of the situation and which type of dressing is best equipped to meet those needs.
An adequately equipped wound care supplies kit should contain wound dressings from each category. This will allow medical professionals the flexibility to deal with the wide range of wounds that may occur.
In what follows below, we will outline the various types of wound dressing in common use today, together with their respective strengths and weaknesses.
These wound dressings are manufactured from woven or non woven materials. They are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
The great strength of these dressings is their versatility. You can apply them to just about any type of wound. They are also relatively inexpensive.
However, they frequently have to be combined with other types of dressing and must be changed frequently. These two factors tend to drive up the total cost of ownership and nullify their cost advantage on an individual dressing basis. In addition, they often adhere to the wound bed, which can retard healing. Further, and probably most importantly, they are not effective at maintaining a moist wound environment. As we will explain below, this is often an essential property for optimal wound healing.
Gauze dressings are a great choice for infected or draining wounds. They are also recommended for wounds requiring packing or frequent dressing changes.
There are many gauze dressings on sale on this site, e.g. the Dermaea Gauze Sponges.
These are usually made from a transparent polyurethane film, which allows health care professionals to continuously monitor the healing progress of chronic wounds without removing the dressing.
In addition to this feature, transparent wound dressings are permeable enough to allow oxygen to penetrate and reach the wound. They also allow moisture vapor to escape to the outside, which is a plus when seeking to keep the wound environment dry. They also conform well to high contoured areas.
The weakness of transparent dressings is their tendency to stick to some types of wounds. Their lack of absorbency.also makes them a poor choice for heavily draining or bleeding wounds.
In summary, these dressings can be used with good results on partial thickness wounds, donor sites, minor burns and some types of pressure ulcer (stages 1 and 2).
Unlike gauze and transparent dressings, foam dressings are less likely to stick to delicate wounds. They are also comfortable and highly absorbent, which means they require changing less frequently than gauze, for example.
On the other side of the ledger, these dressings sometimes need to be used with a secondary fixing dressing. Although they generally require less frequent changing, they can cause maceration of wound tissue if not changed frequently enough. Maceration refers to the breakdown of skin tissue due to excessive exposure to moisture.
Foam dressings are a great option for use on pressure ulcers, minor burns, diabetic ulcers, donor sites and venous ulvers.
The key feature of hydrocolloid dressings is their high absorbency. This makes them an excellent candidate for deplayment on heavily draining wounds. They are equipped with particles that swell into a gel when they encounter wound exudate (i.e. fluids draining from the wound). They also have strong adhesive backings which usually obviates the need for a secondary fixing dressing.
Other pros include strong debridement properties,excellent wound bed insulation and their waterproof construction, which helps them resist possible sources of infection like urine or stool.
However, these dressings can leave a residue on the wound bed that can easily be mistaken for an infection.They are also a poor choice if there is a pre existing wound infection.
These dressings are best suited for burns, pressure ulcers and venous ulcers.
The distinguishing feature of these dressings is their use of seaweed salts. They are highly absorbent and a good choice for wounds with a pre -existing infection. They are non adherent, so will require a secondary fixing dressing, and also have excellent debridement capabilities.
However, they are not suitable for use on dry wounds as they may exacerbate the dryness and cause dessication of the wound bed.
Suitable for use on venous ulcers, tunneling wounds or heavily bleeding wounds.
As you might expect, there is also a wide variety of hybrid dressings that combine moisture retentive materials with gauze in order to get “the best of both worlds”.
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Use conforming stretch gauze when you need a highly flexible bandage for binding large wounds or wounds in highly contoured body areas.
Curity Abdominal Pads have all edges sealed to eliminate the possibility of lint residue and leaking and are designed to keep foreign matter and wound exudate away from the wound in order to reduce infection risk.
Use Curity Wound Closure Strips for treatment of superficial wounds. You can apply them over lacerations in a manner that pulls together the edges of the wound and helps to speed healing. This approach applies less tension to the wound than suturing, but also carries less risk of infection or scarring. You will also find…
Curity Eye Pads can be used after an eye injury or surgery as a bandage over the eye for protection or absorption of secretions.
Curity Fabric Bandages are highly flexible, conforming, breathable and latex free bandages specifically designed for fingers, elbows, toes and other highly contoured areas of the body.
Demacea Gauze Sponges are useful for wound care, cleaning and preparation work and are sufficiently user friendly for use both in hospital or home settings.
Excilon drain sponges are a great choice when you need to reduce the risk of wound infections and decrease the frequency of required dressing changes.
This is a listing for Medline eye pads. They are low linting and highly absorbent, making them an excellent choice for treating wounds around the eye. They are also latex free and sterile. The pads are single use only nd are sold and priced per box of 50 pads Medline Eye Pads – Instructions When…
Use GluStitch if you are treating superficial skin wounds and your goal is to close them with minimal loss of tissue. GluStitchIt employs octyl and butyl cyanoacrylate adhesives with about one-fifth of the holding power of sutures. It will also form a microbial barrier to reduce the risk of invasion of foreign matter and consequent…
Non adherent pads made from polyester and rayon to protect and cushion your wound with optimal fluid drainage.
These premium woven gauze sponges are ideally suited for general wound care.
3M Steri-Strips are sterile wound closure dressings the primary use of which is closure of superficial (as opposed to deep) incisions. These sterile dressings can be applied to superficial lacerations in such a way as to pull together the skin on either side of your wound. This promotes faster healing of the wound. The tension…
3M TegaDerm is used to cover catheter sites and wounds. The dressing is transparent and breathable. It will conform to your skin, even when you use it on highly contoured areas like your fingers or toes. You can apply the dressing yourself, making it suitable for use at or away from home. You will continue…
Telfa Adhesive Island Dressing is a versatile and user friendly dressing that features a highly absorbent cotton core enclosed by a perforated non adherent film. It preserves the ideal balance between preserving a moist wound environment and removal of wound exudate and is ideal for lightly draining wounds.
Telfa Non Adherent Dressing is a great solution for the treatment of lightly draining wounds or for coverage of dry wounds for protection of the skin during healing.
Woundseal powder is the perfect accessory for your first aid kit.
