A patient’s core body temperature must be above 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit and below 107.6 for wound healing to occur.

The loss of moisture from any surface by evaporation is accompanied by cooling of the surface. So, as wound tissues lose moisture, a cooling effect occurs resulting in lower wound temperature.

Even a decrease of only 2 degrees Celsius is sufficient enough to affect the biological healing process of your patients. This is because cells and enzymes function optimally only at normal body temperature.

Whether you’ve been in wound care for many years, or are a newcomer to the field, you have likely heard the terms TIME and maybe TIMERS.

The two words are acronyms pertaining to clinical categories related to comprehensive wound assessment, management and wound bed preparation for hard-to-heal wounds, said Donald Wollheim, MD, FAPWCA, WCC, DWC, a board-certified surgeon of the American Board of Surgery and clinical instructor with the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI).

We must ensure we provide wound care treatments based on solid medical rationale and science or clinical evidence. 

This applies to wound care clinicians, especially certified wound care clinicians, and includes all aspects of wound care — even applying Dakin’s solution and acetic acid.

Unfortunately, in my 25 years of wound care experience, I still see many practices that do not meet those criteria. I am guilty too.

Back in the early days of my wound care career, I promoted practices that didn’t meet those criteria because I trusted the clinicians teaching me were doing the right thing. 

However, I began to question things as my knowledge grew. After doing the research, I was shocked to learn some tried-and-true practices weren’t so tried and true after all.

In this blog post, we delve into one of those methods — the use of Dakin’s solution and acetic acid in wound care.