• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact Life with Heidi
  • About Me
  • Entertainment
  • Family
  • Gift Guides
Life With Heidi

Life With Heidi

Adventures in life with food and all things fun!

  • Home & Organization
    • Food & Recipes
    • DIY
  • Travel
  • Frugal living
    • Health & Beauty
    • Technology
Home | Health & Beauty | 5 Types of Wound Dressings and When to Use Them

5 Types of Wound Dressings and When to Use Them

Health & Beauty

When it comes to treating wounds, using the correct dressing is vital to prevent infection, protect from more damage, and promote faster healing.

A wound dressing can be any material that comes into contact with a wound – but it needs to stop the bleeding, prevent further damage, and absorb blood and other fluids.

The best dressing for a wound will depend on the type of injury, the location, size, and severity. If the wound is very deep or more than half an inch long, you should seek medical assistance immediately.

To make choosing the correct dressing for wounds easier, here’s a list of the five most common dressings and when you should use them.

1. Foam

Some of the most common wound dressings are made from foamed polymer, and they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. They are versatile and can be used to dress wounds of varying severity.

Although allevyn life foam dressings are excellent for absorbing fluids, they also keep the area moist to promote faster healing.

Foam dressings usually come with an adhesive border and are encased in transparent film. Not only does this prevent bacteria from entering the wound, but it also makes foam dressings easy to remove because the adhesive border does not make contact with the wound.

Because foam dressings are thicker than most other dressings, they also help cushion the wound from further injury.

2. Gauze

Because they are inexpensive and widely available, dressings made from cloth or gauze are the most commonly used dressings on the market.

Gauze dressings are recommended for broken skin and minor open wounds – like a scraped knee or a cut. Gauze dressings are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, with or without adhesive borders.

Made from polyester, cotton, silk, linen, or rayon, gauze dressings are highly breathable and permeable. Because gauze dressings do not seal tightly against the skin, they allow water and blood to pass through and air to circulate – they are ideal for wounds that need to dry out.

Usually, gauze dressing will be used as the first layer of protection for a wound, but gauze sponge can also be used and secured in place with a gauze bandage roll.

3. Hydrogel

Because hydrogel dressings are 80% to 90% glycerin or water, they are designed to soothe burns and wounds, reduce pain, prevent infection, and provide moisture to the affected area. However, because they are non-absorbent, they are not suitable for all wounds.

The moisture in hydrogel dressings promotes faster healing because it breaks down dry or dead tissue, encouraging cell regeneration. The moisture in hydrogels also has a soothing, cooling effect.

Due to their permeability, hydrogels are not as effective at creating a protective barrier against bacteria. Another downside to hydrogels is that they can dehydrate quickly.

Hydrogel dressings can be sheets, saturated gauze, or gels, and they are the best dressings for second-degree burns, donor sites from skin grafts, pressure ulcers, and wounds that have become inflamed or infected.

4. Calcium Alginate

Calcium alginate dressings are biodegradable because they are made from sodium and seaweed fibers. Because these dressings are so absorbent (they can absorb 20 times their weight), they are perfect for deep wounds with a lot of draining fluid.

Because calcium alginate dressings seal tightly against the skin, they may trap an odor-producing bacteria that can be mistaken for an infection.

Calcium alginate dressings come in sheets, applicators, and ropes. Sheets are good for absorbing draining fluids from the wound, while ropes and applicators are used to fill in cavities and tunnels in the skin.

Calcium alginate is recommended for wet injuries that need to drain – like deep injuries such as packing wounds, burns, and venous ulcers. However, it is not ideal for dry wounds because it will make the area even drier.

Calcium alginate dressings are usually secured in place with a second dressing, such as gauze. 

5. Collagen

Collagen dressings are unique because they provide a temporary layer that acts like skin. This ‘second skin’ encourages cell regeneration and promotes a faster healing time.

Not only does collagen help wounds heal faster, but it also removes dead skin tissue, allows new blood vessels to form, and tightens the edges of the wound site.

Collagen dressings are best used on chronic injuries that are taking a long time to heal – such as pressure sores, ulcers, transplant sites, surgical sites, liposuction sites, and wounds with a large surface area.

March 3, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « 5 Ways to Encourage Your Fussy Eating Kids to Enjoy a Varied Diet
Next Post: Paris and Beyond: Top Rated Day Trips From the City of Light »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Affiliate Disclaimer We work with a variety of different affiliate companies. This means that we will receive a small compensation if you purchase from one of our affiliate links. This will not affect the price of your item(s). "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."

Search by Category

Copyright © 2022 · Farmhouse Theme by Restored 316

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT