The sooner your wounds are properly treated, the faster you’ll find yourself on the path to recovery. In this guide, we’ll look at wound care dressings and how to find the right fit to promote faster healing. Let's dive in!
Wound Care Dressings Fundamentals: Finding the Right Fit
Wound care dressings aren’t often thought about. Yet, they help millions of patients suffering from chronic wounds in the US alone. Treating these nonhealing wounds effectively helps reduce costs and improve the quality of life for patients. And one of the most effective treatments for chronic wounds involves choosing the right dressing.
So, to illustrate this, let’s break down some common types of wounds and the best kinds of treatments for them.
Superficial Wounds
Superficial or surface wounds are limited to the epidermis. Typically, these can include thin burns, catheter sites, partial thickness, or epidermal skin graft harvest sites. Moreover, the major focus is on skin recovery that is assisted through dressings that cover or block the wound. These often are relatively basic or practical dressings.
Best Dressings: Films, hydrocolloids, polymeric membrane dressings (or PMD).
Wounds with Eschar
Eschar is thick, adherent dead tissue, often dry and surrounded by necrotic tissue. This tissue needs to be carefully removed and the area moisturized to promote better healing. Generally, the best dressings for these address this lack of moisture and provide some kind of enzymatic treatment for the eschar.
Best Dressings: Hydrogels, hydrocolloids, PMD.
Granulating Wounds
Granulation tissue begins forming in a wound space around 4 days after the initial injury. This is largely made up of macrophages, fibroblasts, and blood vessels that have entered the injury to promote recovery. Granulation tissue is deep pink or red with an irregular almost berry-like surface. Overall, wound dressings should promote granulation tissue formation without overgranulating the wound.
Best Dressings: Hydrocolloids, foams, PMD.
Deep or Tunneling Wounds
Deep wounds extend to the subcutis or deeper and may exhibit signs of undermining around the wound’s edges. Commonly, these are the results of ulcers, abscesses, surgery, radiation burns, or similar conditions.
Deep wounds may need packing to expedite healing. Without it, wounds may close superficially on the surface before deeper areas. Luckily, packing can absorb drainage and clean, fill, and moisten the cavity to promote healing from the inside.
Best Dressings: Alginates, hydrofibers, hydrogels. Also, PMD is been shown as effective as a packing material for deep wounds.
Wound Solutions of Arkansas and Beyond
The best wound solutions in Arkansas are largely the same as anywhere else. They involve long-term recurring care to help your body’s natural healing processes to seal the wound. So, here are some takeaway strategies for the best wound solutions.
Choosing the Right Dressing
As discussed above, different types of wounds require different types of treatment. Wound dressing selection should be tailored based on the wound’s fundamental characteristics. Usually, this will reduce recovery time and prevent the condition from becoming chronic.
Complications
Complications typically will keep a wound inflamed and compound recovery time. Some common complications include allergic reactions and maceration of healthy skin. So, be on the lookout for complications like this and try to mitigate them if possible.
Make Frequent Inspections
Frequent inspections are necessary to optimize the dressing selection and monitor recovery. These inspections are the best chance to observe what’s working with treatment and where adjustments need to be made.
Adjust Treatment As Conditions Change
Changing the wound’s dressing isn’t just a thoughtless exercise, but a chance to monitor recovery. In fact, this is an opportunity for practitioners to gather quantitative data reflecting the changing wound environment and adjust treatment strategies as necessary.
Faster Healing at Sana Wound Care
Ultimately, the right-fitting wound dressings will assist your body in its natural healing process. Thankfully, you’re not alone. So, if you’re looking for a wound care clinic Fayetteville AR can rely on, Sana Wound Care is your best choice.
Sana uses a collaborative multidisciplinary approach that uses the latest in evidence-based technology. Moreover, they’re dedicated to ensuring patients achieve optimal wound healing through compassionate and high-quality care. Call or contact us today to schedule a visit!
