Ulcer, inflammation, exudate… treating wounds can really be tricky, leading to all sorts of issues if not careful enough! Alginate dressing, however, makes wound care so much easier.
Alginate dressings are a biodegradable, hydrophilic, non-adherent, highly absorbent, and advanced wound care solution. Made from a variety of seaweed, alginate dressing features softness, conformability, and high applicability in various shaped wounds. Better even, the calcium ions in the dressing interact with the sodium ions in the wound exudate, rendering the fibers in the dressing swell and partially dissolve into a gel. This reaction helps maintain a moist environment in the wound, making alginate dressing the best to accelerate healing.
Moreover, given the naturally hemostatic nature of alginate fibers, the calcium ions in alginate dressing can diffuse into the wound and eventually activate platelets to control minor bleeding.
Often used on wounds with heavy exudate, the alginates dressing enjoys a history of nearly 40 years yet is still understudied and, to some extent, underestimated. So, let us have a deeper look at alginate dressings and their unparalleled merits.
Alginate Dressing: Better for Certain Kinds of Wounds
For those wound situations that are granulating or sloughing, alginate dressings can be of greater effect. In sloughy wounds with exudate, the alginate dressing produces a moist cover that prevents the drying out of the wound, helping skin trauma heal more quickly.
To better adapt to various locations and types of wounds, alginate dressings are manufactured in different shapes, such as flat sheets, ropes, and ribbons. Rope and ribbon dressings are good for packing cavity wounds, while alginate wound dressing in sheet can be used on surface wounds. Either way, common wound conditions to apply alginate dressings may include ulcers, cavity wounds, superficial and partial thickness burns, minor bleeding wounds, graft wounds and donor sites, and post-operative surgical wounds.
The Benefits of Alginate Dressings?
- Excellent Absorption
Capable of absorbing 15-20 times their own weight in exudate, alginate dressings are good for heavily exuding wounds because of their excellent absorptive abilities. Consequently, the alginate dressings prolong surgical dressing wear time and lower change frequency.
- Good Gel-forming Effect
By consuming wound exudate, absorbing moisture from the air, alginate dressings maintain a moist environment with a gel formed on the surface, and quench the pain associated with wounds given its hemostatic properties.
Alginate dressings also act as an excellent absorbent and provide a moist environment to facilitate wound recovery.
- High Manipulability
As previously mentioned, shaped in both sheet and rope, alginate dressings are highly manipulable and can be used for different types of irregular-shaped wounds.
- Convenient for the Changing
Not only do Alginate dressings act as an excellent absorbent and provide a moist environment to facilitate wound recovery, but also are easy to apply. They don’t require any special care, as placing them on the wound allows them to function as they should. Mostly, alginate dressings can hold for 5-7 days before they need to get changed. As for the infected wounds, inspecting them daily is highly advised.
To lessen the pain of the patient, alginate dressings do not adhere to the wound, making them easily removable when changing.
- Good for Both Moderate to Heavily Exuding Wounds
The calcium alginate the alginate dressings contain is ideally designed for all moderate to heavily exuding wounds. How much the alginate dressings swell depends on the product’s chemical composition and the botanical source.
Conclusion
Choosing the appropriate wound dressings can achieve accelerated healing and lessened pains for the patients. By virtue of their unique advantages, alginate dressings serve as an important part of wound care, making them a perfect choice for various wound types.
Winner Medical offers a variety of exudative management solutions covering mild, moderate, and severe chronic or acute wounds, ranging from foam dressing, super-absorbent dressing, alginate dressing, hydrocolloid dressing, and more!
If you have any questions regarding exudative management solutions, feel free to contact Winner Medical.