Table of contents:
- Acute vs chronic wounds
- The four stages of wound healing
- What do wound dressings do?
- Types of bandageswound dressing
- 1. Film dressing
- 2. Simple island dressing
- 3. Non-adherent dressing
- 4. Moist dressing
- 5. Absorbent dressing
You've heard of wound dressing? No, this isn't it dressing for salads, but rather a wound dressing. Currently of use wound dressings has been widely used in various health facilities to treat chronic wounds. Those of you who have diabetes mellitus and currently have sores on your feet that are large enough may have used it frequently wound dressing. But you know what the truth is wound dressings this? Come on, let's see the info about wound dressing the following.
Acute vs chronic wounds
Based on the duration and healing process, wounds can be divided into acute wounds and chronic wounds. Acute wounds are injuries to the skin that result from trauma or surgical wounds. Acute wounds heal in predictable times ranging from 8 to 12 weeks depending on the size and depth of the wound. Conversely, chronic wounds are wounds where the normal healing process fails and the healing time cannot be estimated. Chronic wounds usually result from burns or ulcers.
The four stages of wound healing
Normal wound healing includes four stages that occur sequentially and overlap. The first is the coagulation and hemostasis phases. This phase occurs right after the wound appears in order to stop the bleeding. Then it continues to the inflammatory phase, where the injured tissue will experience inflammation to prevent infection.
The third phase is the proliferation phase, which is the phase where the damaged tissue will repair itself to form new tissue and new blood vessels. The last phase is the maturation phase, where the new tissue and new blood vessels will be more mature.
What do wound dressings do?
Wound dressing what doctors use is a covering to protect the wound from infection, as well as to help the wound heal. This wound dressing is made for direct contact with the wound, in contrast to the bandages used to protect it wound dressing stay in place.
Wound dressing has several functions depending on the type, severity, and location of the wound. In general the main function wound dressing is to prevent infection, but in addition wound dressing also useful to help:
- Stops the wound and starts the blood clotting process
- Absorbs excess blood or other fluid that comes out of the wound
- Starting the healing process
Types of bandageswound dressing
Type wound dressing which are on the market now there are so many that they reach more than 3000 types, but to make things easier wound dressings can be grouped into 5 major groups, namely:
- Dressing film
- Simple island dressing
- Non-adherent dressing
- Moist dressing
- Absorbent dressing
1. Film dressing
Dressing it can be used as a main or supplementary dressing. Usually used as protection for areas of the body that experience frequent friction such as heels. Dressing it is permeable to air so that the wound is not too wet with moisture. Dressing this can keep the wound dry and prevent bacterial contamination.
2. Simple island dressing
Dressing it is only used to cover a wound that has been sutured such as a surgical wound. In the center of this dressing contains cellulose which functions to absorb the fluids that seep out of the wound during the first 24 hours after surgery.
3. Non-adherent dressing
Dressing This type is designed so that it does not stick to the draining fluid that comes from the wound with the aim that when the dressing is opened it will not cause wounds and pain. This is important because if you use a sticky dressing, it can injure the new tissue that is formed, causing wound and bleeding.
4. Moist dressing
Dressing this serves to keep the wound moist by preventing the skin from losing its moisture or by actively adding moisture to the area. Moist dressing can be divided into two groups, viz hydrogel and hydrocolloid.
Hydrogel dressing contains 60-70% water stored in gel form. Usually used for wounds that contain dead tissue, where the tissue becomes hard and black, as well as adheres to the living tissue underneath to prevent the healing process. The function of water is to soften dead tissue so that dead tissue can be removed by the body and helps the wound healing process.
Hydrocolloid dressing does not contain water in it, but it acts as a seal so that moisture is not lost through evaporation.
5. Absorbent dressing
Dressing it is able to absorb the fluid that comes out of the wound. Suitable for wet wounds. The aim is to prevent maceration of the wound due to the fluid continuously leaking out of the wound.
