As wound care professionals, wound care dressings are an important tool.

Keeping up to date on the types of wound care dressings available to treat patients in our care is our duty.

Wound care dressings come in various shapes, sizes and have indications for their use.

Professionals who treat wounds must remain aware of the types of wound care dressings they can use, as well as their contraindications. Here’s a list.

Transparent Film Dressings

Transparent wound care dressings are thin, transparent sheets of polyurethane coated with an adhesive and are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are semi-permeable, allowing the one-way passage of oxygen and moisture vapor, but are waterproof and impermeable to bacteria.

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As wound care clinicians, you must be aware of the different types of wound care dressings, such as hydrogel dressings.

A hydrogel dressing — also known as hydrated polymer dressings — consist of 90% water in a gel base that regulate fluid exchange from the wound surface.

It absorbs small amounts of fluid and donating moisture to the wound bed.

These dressings are available in sheets, amorphous gels, or impregnated gauze and packing strips.

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As wound care certified (WCC) clinicians, you should be aware of the types of dressings available to treat patients in your care.

Wound care dressings come in various shapes, sizes and have indications for their use, including collagen wound dressings.

Let’s explore which types of dressings are focused on collagen.

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The wound care industry has been inundated with antimicrobial products for years. 

Companies with good intentions try to improve outcomes and move away from antiquated antiseptics, such as Betadine, Dakins and acetic acid, that are not actually approved for use in wounds.

But some products are cytotoxic and lack any solid evidence that they are antimicrobial.

Instead, companies are offering modern products with little or no cytotoxicity available in multiple forms, such as cleansers and dressings. The challenge facing you in this barrage of products is knowing whether they are actually antimicrobial in the wound. 

This blog will arm you with proper ways to analyze these antimicrobial products and increase knowledge about them.

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Let’s take a one question wound care quiz.

What is more important for wound dressing change frequency?

1. Expert application of a dressing
2. Frequency of the dressing change

The correct answer is the frequency. Now let’s talk about why.

I do not want to take away from the importance of properly applying dressings because that certainly has its own merits. But when it comes down to it, the frequency wins hands down. 

As we teach in class, wound healing is a dynamic process. As the wound progresses through the phases of healing, all kinds of cellular activity is happening.

From the neutrophils and macrophages to the growth factors and fibroblasts, each phase has a job to do for the wound to move to the next phase and ultimately close.

What should wound care professionals do when a physician orders wet-to-dry dressings? Be prepared and know the facts.

Those of us in wound care know that wet-to-dry dressings are considered substandard care. Some physicians, however, commonly order wet-to-dry dressings for patients, often leaving clinicians in a tricky situation. Do you feel conflicted as to how you should respond? It can be intimidating, but with a little preparation, it doesn’t have to be. By knowing the facts about wet-to-dry dressings, as well as effective and cost-efficient alternatives, you can handle such situations with confidence. Not sure where to start? We’re here to help.

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How do you use hydrogel dressings to keep wounds moist without causing maceration? Very carefully.  

If you’ve ever taken a long bath or spent an afternoon in a swimming pool, you’re familiar with what happens to your hands and feet: they become soft, white, and wrinkled up like prunes. This is a classic case of maceration, which occurs when skin tissue is exposed to excessive moisture over a period of time.

As clinicians, we regularly treat patients with wounds (which need to be kept moist) that are surrounded by tissue that needs to be kept dry. So knowing how to properly treat the wound without causing maceration makes all the difference in the healing process.
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