Dressings

By Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS

We've all experienced difficulty in getting dressings to stay on for as long as we need them to, especially when there are many commercial dressings that could (and should) remain in place for several days before they require changing.

By Beth Hawkins Bradley RN, MN, CWON

Finding the key to unlocking a non-healing chronic wound keeps us awake at night. Though we have, as bedside clinicians, learned much about the physiology and biochemistry of chronic wounds over the past decade, wound healing is not an exact science. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has become standard care for certain chronic wounds. Sometimes, however, wounds treated with this therapy do not progress as readily as we think that they should. This has led us to consider combining other wound care products with NPWT. This article will examine the rationale for using three products in combination with negative pressure.

By Sue Hull MSN, RN, CWOCN

Here is an idea you will love!

What do you do with a blister? You know the problem. You discover a blister. If you don’t do anything, it will probably unroof and be open and vulnerable by the next time you see it.

By Sue Hull MSN, RN, CWOCN

After I wrote the short series on wound care and wound product standardization, I received an email that said this:

By Beth Hawkins Bradley RN, MN, CWON

I am frequently asked for solutions relating to maceration to periwound skin in wounds being treated with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). As a clinician practicing in the outpatient and home care settings, it was not unusual for patients to have to take a "holiday" from negative pressure. Treatment was often put on hold for several days to allow skin to recover. Putting negative pressure on hold not only caused a potential delay in forward progress in the wound, but it also created the need for increased dressing change visits for the home care patient. While maceration is reported in wounds located anywhere on the body, it seems to be most prevalent on skin of the lower extremity.

By Beth Hawkins Bradley RN, MN, CWON

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) has become standard of care for many wound types. Any clinician who works with NPWT dressings will report that a significant number of wounds will develop a malodor, commonly referred to as a “VAC stink.” In response to malodor, clinicians often opt to give the wound a NPWT holiday, which can delay wound closure. In thi article we will look at factors that contribute to malodor, and interventions that might reduce it.

By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS

By Aletha Tippett MD

With a theme this month of dressings, I think it is time to give gauze its rightful due. There are a number of wound care providers who would say that “gauze has no cause”. Of course, this is said because of the understanding that moist gauze dries out when on a wound, leading to “wet to dry”, which is a major no-no according to CMS. This wet-to-dry results in debridement of viable tissue. It is also because of the belief and practice that a gauze dressing needs to be changed daily, and with all the cost-consciousness, this makes it more expensive than a once-a-week higher end dressing. However, in real life, how often does a once-weekly dressing actually last the full week, especially on a sacral or buttock wound?

By Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS

There are more than 3,000 types of wound dressings available on the market today, and more are being launched every day. Although there are a number of protocols and algorithms available to help with the selection of wound dressings,^1,2 and individual facilities are likely to have their own dressings of choice, the decision can still seem overwhelming. Even the most seasoned wound care practitioner can find it difficult to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each dressing available and to make the appropriate choice for a particular patient. Rather than consider each dressing in isolation, a useful technique can be to mentally place each type of dressing on a continuum of occlusion.³

By Kathi Thimsen RN, MSN, WOCN

In follow up to comments and additional considerations of products, ingredients, and clinical practice, it is important to discuss several aspects of the topic. This blog has served thus far as a primer for the evolution of products both on the market today and currently under development.