Information about Dressing (medical)
A dressing is an adjunct used by a person for application to a wound in order to promote healing and/or prevent further harm. A dressing is designed to be in direct contact with the wound, which makes it different to a bandage, which is primarily used to hold a dressing in place. Some organisations classify them as the same thing (for example, the British Pharmacopoeia) and the terms are used interchangeably by some people. Dressings are frequently used in first aid and nursing.
In the 1960s, George Winter published his controversial research on moist healing. Previously, the accepted wisdom was that in order to prevent infection of a wound, the wound should be kept as dry as possible. Winter demonstrated that wounds which were kept moist healed faster than those which were left exposed to the air or covered with traditional dressings.
Ideally, dressings should:
Historically, and still the case in many less developed areas and in an emergency, dressings are often improvised as needed. This can consist of anything, including clothing or spare material, which will fulfil some of the basic tenets of a dressing - usually stemming bleeding and absorbing exudate.
Applying and changing dressings is one common task in nursing.
An "ideal" wound dressing is one that is sterile, breathable, and encourages a moist healing environment. This will then reduce the risk of infection, help the wound heal more quickly, and reduce scarring.
Core purposes of a dressing
A dressing can have a number of purposes, depending on the type, severity and position of the wound, although all purposes are focused towards promoting recovery and preventing further harm from the wound. Key purposes of are dressing are:- Stem bleeding - Helps to seal the wound to expedite the clotting process
- Absorb exudate - Soak up blood, plasma and other fluids exuded from the wound, containing it in one place
- Ease pain - Some dressings may have a pain relieving effect, and others may have a placebo effect
- Debride the wound - The removal of slough and foreign objects from the wound
- Protection from infection and mechanical damage, and
- Promote healing - through granulation and epithelialisation
Types of dressing
Historically, a dressing was usually a piece of material, sometimes cloth, but the use of cobwebs, dung, leaves and honey have also been described. However, modern dressings [1] include gauzes (which may be impregnated with an agent designed to help sterility or to speed healing), films, gels, foams, hydrocolloids, alginates, hydrogels and polysaccharide pastes, granules and beads. Dressings can be impregnated with antiseptic chemicals, as in boracic lint or where medicinal Castor oil was used in the first surgical dressings [2]In the 1960s, George Winter published his controversial research on moist healing. Previously, the accepted wisdom was that in order to prevent infection of a wound, the wound should be kept as dry as possible. Winter demonstrated that wounds which were kept moist healed faster than those which were left exposed to the air or covered with traditional dressings.
Ideally, dressings should:
- Control the moisture content, so that the wound stays moist;
- Protect the wound from infection;
- Remove slough;
- Maintain the optimum pH and temperature to encourage healing;
Usage of dressings
Applying a dressing is a first aid skill, although many people undertake the practice with no training - especially on minor wounds. Modern dressings will almost all come in a prepackaged sterile wrapping, date coded to ensure sterility, this is due to the fact that it will come in to direct contact with the wound, and sterility is required in order to fulfil the 'Protection from infection' aim of a dressing.Historically, and still the case in many less developed areas and in an emergency, dressings are often improvised as needed. This can consist of anything, including clothing or spare material, which will fulfil some of the basic tenets of a dressing - usually stemming bleeding and absorbing exudate.
Applying and changing dressings is one common task in nursing.
An "ideal" wound dressing is one that is sterile, breathable, and encourages a moist healing environment. This will then reduce the risk of infection, help the wound heal more quickly, and reduce scarring.
References
1. ^ www.dressings.org. SMTL. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
2. ^ Report upon the Use of a Mixture of Castor oil and Balsam of Peru as a Surgical Dressing. pubmedcentral. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
2. ^ Report upon the Use of a Mixture of Castor oil and Balsam of Peru as a Surgical Dressing. pubmedcentral. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
wound is a type of physical trauma where in the skin is torn, cut or punctured (an open wound), or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). In pathology, it specifically refers to a sharp injury which damages the dermis of the skin.
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bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to the body. Bandages are available in a wide range of types, from generic cloth strips, to specialised shaped bandages designed for a specific limb
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First aid is the provision of limited care for an illness or injury, which is provided, usually by a lay person, to a sick or injured patient until definitive medical treatment can be accessed, or until the illness or injury is dealt with (as not all illnesses or injuries will
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Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families, and communities in attaining, maintaining, and recovering optimal health and functioning. Modern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by
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Bleeding, technically known as hemorrhage (American English) or haemorrhage (British English) is the loss of blood from the circulatory system.[1] Bleeding can occur internally, where blood leaks from blood vessels inside the body or externally, either
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thrombus, or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system (i.e. clotting factors).
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An exudate is any fluid that filters from the circulatory system into lesions or areas of inflammation. Its composition varies but generally includes water and the dissolved solutes of the blood, some or all plasma proteins, white blood cells, platelets and (in the case of local
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Pain is a sensation transmitted from sensory nerves through the spinal cord and to the sensory area of the cerebrum, where the sensation is perceived. It is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional
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Placebo effect is the term applied by medical science to the therapeutical and healing effects of inert medicines and/or ritualistic or faith healing manipulations.[1] [2].
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Debridement is a medical term referring to the removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue. Removal may be surgical, mechanical, chemical, autolytic (self-digestion), and by maggot therapy, where certain
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An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply (usually at the expense of the host).
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Healing is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area. Healing incorporates both the removal of necrotic tissue (demolition), and the replacement of this tissue.
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Granulation tissue is the perfused, fibrous connective tissue that replaces a fibrin clot in healing wounds. Granulation tissue typically grows from the base of a wound and is able to fill wounds of almost any size.
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textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial fibers often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibers, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn.
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Boracic lint was a type of medical dressing made from surgical lint that was soaked in a hot, saturated solution of boracic acid and glycerine and then left to dry.
It has been in use since at least the 19th century,[1] but is now less commonly used.
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It has been in use since at least the 19th century,[1] but is now less commonly used.
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Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean (technically castor seed as the castor plant, Ricinus communis, is not a member of the bean family).
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First aid is the provision of limited care for an illness or injury, which is provided, usually by a lay person, to a sick or injured patient until definitive medical treatment can be accessed, or until the illness or injury is dealt with (as not all illnesses or injuries will
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Sterilization (or sterilisation) refers to any process that effectively kills or eliminates transmissible agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, prions and spore forms etc.) from a surface, equipment, foods, medications, or biological culture medium.
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Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families, and communities in attaining, maintaining, and recovering optimal health and functioning. Modern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by
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