Impregnated Dressings
Impregnated dressings have become popular in wound care settings. Whether you’re caring for someone with an injury or yourself, there are things you'll need to know about impregnated dressings before you shop.
What Are Impregnated Dressings?
Impregnated dressings are non-adherent dressings saturated with a medication designed to reduce the risk of infection and promote healing. The added ingredient could be a solution, emulsion, oil, or another compound.
Impregnated dressings are for wounds that need additional medications while they heal. If you are using an impregnated dressing on a wound, you will also need a secondary dressing to place over it to secure the bandage in place. Secondary dressings help protect the surrounding skin from wound exudate, increase moisture, and help ensure that the impregnated dressing stays in place. Secondary dressings often adhere to the skin around the impregnated dressing and are made of absorbent materials to help further protect the wound.
What are the Benefits of Impregnated Bandages?
Impregnated dressings allow you to deliver different compounds to the wound while it heals. This may be an antibiotic, vitamin, mineral, or another type of agent that protects the wound and assists in healing. The dressing allows for the compound to release slowly onto the wound. It's a design that prevents the need to reapply the dressing.
Impregnated Dressing Sizes
Impregnated dressings come in a variety of sizes, including:
Impregnated Dressing Materials
Impregnated dressings come in a variety of materials, including gauze, cellulose, cotton, and cloth. You should always follow your healthcare provider’s recommendation for dressing materials.
Types of Impregnated Gauze Dressing
Impregnated gauze dressings come with a variety of ingredients designed to support healing.
Sodium Chloride Impregnated Dressing: Sodium chloride impregnated dressings help absorb discharge along with any bacteria around the wound. These dressings are typically helpful when used when there is swelling around a wound. This is the inflammatory stage of wound healing.
Silver Impregnated Dressings: Silver has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, which is why silver-impregnated dressing is relatively popular in wound care. These dressings are designed to slowly release ionic silver into the wound to help protect against bacteria.
Hydrogel Impregnated Dressings: Hydrogel impregnated wound dressings contain amorphous hydrogel made from water, polymers, and other ingredients. The hydrogel moisturizes the wounds and helps rehydrate the tissue during healing. Hydrogel impregnated wound dressings are suitable for wounds with variable thicknesses and injuries with a risk for tissue death.
Petroleum Impregnated Dressings: Petroleum impregnated dressings help reduce the risk of infection by preventing bacterial invasion and controlling any potential odor from the wound.
Nutrient Delivering Impregnated Dressings: These are impregnated with nutrients such as vitamin B and zinc to support the wound during healing. While the vitamins and minerals vary by manufacturer, these dressings protect the wound from bacteria while nourishing it during healing.
What are the Applications for Impregnated Dressings?
Impregnated dressings are for full-thickness and partial-thickness wounds such as burns, skin tears, and dermal ulcers. Most of the time, your healthcare provider will recommend a specific type of impregnated dressing for the wound in question.
Remember, while impregnated dressings are helpful for many types of wounds, they are not beneficial for all wounds. If your healthcare provider did not specify that an impregnated dressing is necessary, you should check before using one to ensure it is the best choice.