Your Essential Guide to Wound Packing Dead Space
By Bill Richlen, PT, WCC, DWC
February 19, 2020
Let’s face it, there is nothing fun, exciting or sexy about this topic. Wound packing is just a necessary part of performing good wound care treatments in the event your patient has notable depth in their wound. However, there is a purpose and a proper way to pack a wound with the goal of promoting […]
Sacral Wounds and Diarrhea Don’t Mix
By Nancy Collins, PhD, RDN, LD, NWCC, FAND
September 12, 2018
Frequent bouts of diarrhea make it difficult to care for wounds on the sacrum or coccyx, and healing often is impeded because of fecal contamination. Many patients, particularly those with mobility issues, have pressure injuries on the sacrum or coccyx. Frequent bouts of diarrhea make it difficult to care for these wounds, which affects healing. […]
Helping Wounds Heal With Amino Acids
By Nancy Collins, PhD, RDN, LD, NWCC, FAND
April 6, 2018
The use of targeted amino acids is becoming more common as a strategy to help heal a variety of conditions, including wounds, because of the role key amino acids have in rebuilding tissue. Chronic wounds, meaning those that have not healed in 12 weeks, affect approximately 6.5 million patients in the United States annually at […]
Wound Temperature and Healing
By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS
February 23, 2018
You’ve probably heard that it’s important to keep wounds moist and warm, But what’s the optimal temperature for healing a wound, and how do you maintain it? Read on for details. When moisture evaporates from a surface, the surface cools. Sweat operates by this principle. So, unfortunately, do wounds. Whenever a wound loses moisture, the […]
Always, Never, When? My Approach to V.A.C. VERAFLO™ Therapy
By Susan Mendez-Eastman RN, CWCN, CPSN
September 22, 2017
Should you consider using negative pressure wound therapy with instillation and dwell (NPWTi-d) on every wound ALWAYS? An experienced wound nurse discusses some contraindications. I am a huge proponent of V.A.C. VERAFLO™ Therapy, but I would NEVER endorse that you should ALWAYS use V.A.C. VERAFLO™ Therapy to treat a wound. There are only a handful […]