An understanding of wound pathophysiology, a defined treatment goal and regular wound assessment combined with knowledge of basic wound dressing categories will provide guidance on product selection for different clinical situations and wound types. In this article, well discuss the most common ones. Some types of drainage from wounds also indicate the presence of bacteria and that the wound is infected. The wound dressings and their applications in wound.
A wound specialist with rich experience understands most of the types of. Wound dressings facilitate the bodys natural healing process and provide an optimal healing environment. Wound drainage is common in many types of wounds including open wounds while they are healing. Monitor glucose levels of patients with diabetes, pain. Sloughyellow, tan dead tissue devitalized escharblackbrown necrotic tissue, can be hard or soft. There are certainly other types of wounds not included in the 5 categories discussed. Surgical wounds your wound 8 how your wound heals there are 3 ways that wounds can heal. Wound care dressing categories and their uses woundsource. The terms dressing and bandage are often used synonymously. Nearly everyone will experience an open wound at some point in their lives. A wound dressing must provide a moist environment, remove the excess of exudate, avoid maceration, protect the wound from infection and maintain an adequate exchange of gases. Find advanced wound care dressings by the type of dressing required.
May be a primary or secondary dressing pressure, partial and full thickness wounds, necrotic wounds and slough wounds for light to moderate draining wounds. They are often utilized as an immediate means of controlling the cleanliness of a wound as well as the loss of blood until surgery can be used for longterm. Learning the dressing categories, ingredients, and variations available is beneficial in facilitating appropriate dressing selection with your patients. The last type of modern wound dressing is bioactive dressings and is produced from biomaterials which play an important role in healing process. Historical role of dressings objectives after completing this module, the participant should be able to. Can be used alone or in combination with other dressings topical agents, 3. Select appropriate dressings, based on the use of dressings in wound management can be traced back to the egyptians. Deep wounds, pack to 80% of depth to accommodate swelling of dressing. Advanced wound care products are designed to treat more complex wounds. The dressing must support a moist environment as drying of the wound bed increases ph, making the wound more alkaline australian wound management association, 2010.
How to choose a right type of wound dressing is very difficult and skilled. Selecting the type of dressing can be a challenge to many health care professionals working in the wound care arena. These types of dressings are most commonly used for chronic wounds with a slow or stalled healing time. View our range of absorbent dressing options that have been developed to meet your patients needs. The main reasons that we apply dressings include the following. Pdf on may 1, 2006, vanessa jones and others published wound dressings find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Antimicrobial dressings for wound contamination antibiotics only for infected wounds not just colonizedcontaminated cultures not generally recommended because all wounds are contaminated if culture indicated, cleanse wound bed with saline, then express drainage from wound bed. Can modify number of layers for changing wound status, 4. Moisture under occlusive dressings not only increases the.
Prudence lennox national clinical leader healthcare. Can be used on infected or uninfected wounds disadvantages. Primary healing occurs when there are less tissue defects in wounds, neat. Wound, whether it is a minor cut or a major incision, it is important to care for it properly, part of this process includes wound dressing. According to trauma area, infectious situation and medical treatment, wound healing can be divided into different categories including primary healing, secondary healing and subeschar healing 1,2. This article offers some tips on how to select an appropriate dressing how to select a wound dressing will be to facilitate cosmetically acceptable healing in the shortest possible time. Theadvanced wound dressings sectionof the bnf provides information on the types and properties of different advanced dressings, and atablethat suggests choices of primary dressing depending on the nature of the wound. A good dressing can promote wound healing and prevent germ infection 10,23,25,26. Finally, the applications of chitosan as a wound dressing material are discussed along with the current status of chitosanbased wound dressings existing on the market.
Alginate dressings are available as a primary dressing in pad or rope form. The wound dressings and their applications in wound healing. Assessing and measuring wounds this is important because each type of wound has a different etiology. There are a number of different dressings and techniques available for managing wounds. A wound caused by, or treated by, a surgical procedure. Your wound will heal in a minimum amount of time, with no separation of the wound edges and with little scar formation. Different dressings are meant for different types of wounds, and it is not always easy to select. This type of wound dressing is the most commonly used dressing and for good reason. There are countless topical agents and wound care dressings available in the wound care market. There are tons of different types of wound dressings used in the medical field today. Whenever you have a wound, whether its a minor cut or a major incision, its crucial to care for. Denise wright, published in this journal in july august 2011. An essential guide to wound care for nurses and healthcare professionals. Traditionally wettodry gauze has been used to dress wounds.
Dressings that create and maintain a moist environment, however, are now considered to provide the optimal conditions for wound healing. Wounds were closed by the use of linen strips to which sticky gum had been applied. Adhesive dressings are used mainly for small wounds. Dressing is designed to be in contact with the wound, which is different from a bandage that holds the dressing in place. Our range of dressings for the management of burns. Classification is an important tool which will enhance assessment of the wound, direct the planning of the treatment and facilitate evaluation of the wound at a later stage. The type of wound drainage you experience can help to know how well the wound is healing. Common types of wound drainage and how to take care of.
Mesalt, curasalt f pvi legend the department of veterans affairs wound identification and dressing selection chart or or or or or or or or or or. Wound it is a break in the continuity of the skin, mucous membranes, bone, or any body organ 3. An open wound is an injury involving an external or internal break in your body tissue, usually involving the skin. Wound dressing categories alginate dressings alginates are primary dressings dressings placed in direct contact with wound bed that are composed of brown seaweed swezey, 2011. A bandage is a piece of material used either to covering wounds, to keep dressings in place, to applying pressure controlling bleeding, to. These dressings gel on contact with wound exudate, thus allowing for a moist wound environment. Wound dressings are designed to help healing by optimising the local wound environment.
By the woundsource editors occlusive dressings are used for sealing particular types of wounds and their surrounding tissue off from air, fluids and harmful contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, in a trauma or first aid situation. These include a perceived lack of efficacy and cost effectiveness, and questions about safety,7,8. This requires assessment of movement while exploring the wound especially in palmar or hand wounds. They come in many different sizes, including specific types for.
Wound dressings 101 considerations in dressing selection when treating a wound whether chronic or acutehealth care professionals have many choices for dressings. They are also be used on pressure sores, transplant sites, surgical wounds, ulcers, burns, or injuries that cover a large area of your body 2. When the papyrus was finally translated in 1930 a variety of dressings were recorded. Antiseptics were made from green copper pigment and chyrsoedla were used in open wounds. The wound dressing should be oxygen breathable as oxygen is needed for every wound healing stages. A lifethreatening wound would be, for example, a chest wound where the underlying lung could be injured, an abdominal wound that could involve the contents of the abdominal cavity, a wound with very active bleeding, or a neck wound, which could compromise the patients airway. September 2009 introduction the following wound dressing guidelines have been developed by the trust formulary group and comprise a list of specific dressings for use in ruh appendix 1. Ppt wound dressings powerpoint presentation free to. The use of silver dressings in wound care has recently been faced with considerable challenges. Manage exudate and related problems world union of wound healing societies 2007.
All medical devices, including wound dressings, adhesives, and bandages, should be labeled with their complete ingredients, and manufacturers should be encouraged to remove common allergens from wound care products, including topical creams, ointments, and dressings. This manual includes chapters on wound assessments, tissue types, wound dressings, pressure injury staging, cleansing and debridement, and more. How to select a wound dressing the pharmaceutical journal. Combines 2 types of absorbent, crossaction structures that facilitate the movement of large volumes of drainage and wound debris through the dressing. A wound specialist with rich experience understands most of the types of wound dressings with their rationale, applicability, efficacy and indications. Grade 1 discolouration of intact skin, including non blanchable, erythema, blue purple and black discolouration. If dressings need to be cut to size, use clean scissors. Cutinova hydro, biatane, tielle, tenderwet active polysaccharide iodine e. The wound dressing is also used to absorb the exudates in case of burn and chronic wound as well as wound bed environment is also important, studies shows that the moist wound heals more efficiently than dry wound 183, 184. The department of veterans affairs wound identification and dressing selection chart or or or or or h or page 2 systemic antibiotics dependant on type of bacteria antibacterial fibre e. How to choose a right type of wound dressing is ver y difficult and skilled. Types of dressings for burn wounds burn injury burns. This type of dressing is for wounds with little to no excess fluid, painful wounds, necrotic wounds, pressure ulcers, donor sites, second degree or higher burns and infected wounds.
As noted above, many types of dressings will reduce wound bacteria, debride and promote an ideal healing environment. Cleanse wound, apply to bed or may pack the wound with rope alginate apply to a moist wound not for a light draining wound and do not add extra moisture overlap edge 18 inch for shallow wound. Dec 10, 20 there are a variety of types of wound care dressings that serve many purposes depending on the wound. What are the different types of wound care dressings. In fact, the term dressing refers more correctly to the primary layer in contact with the wound. Changing the culture of wound care management within your agency by barbara dale and h. Wound care treating a wound 3 4 5 use the following procedure when treating a wound wash hands and apply gloves. Collagen dressings can be used for chronic wounds or stalled wounds, pressure sores, transplant sites, surgical wounds, ulcers, burns, or injuries with a large surface area.
The secret to understanding the various types of wound dressings is to learn the basic properties of the eight main categories of wound dressings. Wound healing is a complicated process, with different strategies in treating different types of wounds. Wound dressings have been used to clean, cover, and protect the wound from the external environment. Pdf on may 1, 2006, vanessa jones and others published wound dressings find, read and. In providing first aid we commonly used selfadhesive dressings or gauze dressings. Apr 01, 2006 silver, in ionic or nanocrystalline form, has for many years been used as an antimicrobial agent particularly in the treatment of burns in the form of silver sulfadiazine cream. A qualifying wound is defined as either of the following. There are more than 3,000 types of wound dressings available on the market today.
Alginate dressings alginate dressings are highly absorptive, nonocclusive dressings made of soft, nonwoven calcium alginate fibers derived from brown seaweed or kelp. The purpose of this article is to identify and categorize types of wound care products appropriate for the various types of wounds that clinicians care for and manage. Types of wound dressings currently used to promote optimal. Made from 100% cotton, gauze sponges absorb drainage such as blood or other fluids making. Any break in the skin will most likely need a type of treatment for faster healing. Antibacterial and interactive dressings change the wound ph hampton, 2008b, generally lowering it to a more acidic and wound friendly level. Discuss dressing selection based on the 9 principles of wound healing. In some healthcare settings, these challenges have led to.
There is little evidence that any dressing is superior to another. Necrotic wounds under ideal conditions, dead tissue in a wound will autolytically debride from healthy tissue underneath. Alginate dressings are used for moderate to high amounts of wound drainage, venous ulcers, packing wounds and pressure ulcers in stage iii or iv. The guideline recommends wound dressings type not specified as an option for managing diabetic foot ulcers, alongside a range of other options provided by a multidisciplinary team.
The wound is clean and all layers of your skin are closed. Management of wounds with dressings ensure the underlying disease etiology is known or there is an understanding of the disease processes understanding the underlying disease etiology and comorbid conditions helps define dressings and the plan of care be familiar with dressings, how they work, advantages. At the bottom of this page is a description summary of the types of wound dressings and a selection chart that displays the different versions of each product, types of wounds they are designed to serve, properties and the top selling brands. What are the different types of wound there are a variety of types of wound care dressings that serve many purposes depending on the wound. For the management of wound infection in chronic and acute wounds and burns. These dressings act as a scaffolding for new cells to grow and can be highly effective when it comes to healing. Wound dressing guide 3 1 the purpose of this resource is to provide a guide on commonly available wound dressing products. Antimicrobial dressings many of these advanced dressings can stay on the wound from 3 to 7 days decrease the bacterial load in the wound indicated for draining, infected wounds they come in many forms foams, sheets, gels, powders, alginates, post op dressings telfa type. Renub research study titled wound care market, global forecast by products traditional adhesive dressings, traditional gauze dressings, nonadherent dressings, film dressings, foam dressings, hydrogel, hydrocolloid, alginate dressings, antimicrobial dressings, growth factors wound type.