Advances in Skin, Wound Care and Tissue Science

Wound care and Dressing

Wound dressings and devices form an important segment of the medical and pharmaceutical wound care market worldwide. Dressings are classified in a number of ways depending on their function in the wound (wound debridement, antibacterial agents, occlusive, absorbent, adherence), type of material employed to produce the dressing (e.g. hydrocolloid, alginate, collagen) and the physical form of the dressing (ointment, film, foam, gel). Dressings are further classified into traditional dressings, modern and advanced dressings, skin replacement products and wound healing devices. The ideal dressing should achieve rapid healing at reasonable cost with minimal inconvenience to the patient. Wound care and dressing selection should be a holistic, structured process involving close cooperation between medical and nursing staff. Three factors must be considered when assessing the requirement for a wound dressing which include general health of the patient, local environment of the wound and specific properties of the dressing.