Wounds with a lot of exudate are common in clinical practice, including abrasions, lacerations, burns, pressure ulcers, radiation-induced moist reactions, and free skin grafts. The traditional method of care is using petroleum jelly gauze, which is a routine dry dressing that has a rough and dry surface, and can easily cause frictional damage to the wound. The new granulation tissue of the wound can grow into the mesh of the dressing, causing pain and damage when changing dressings.
Alginate is a type of contemporary moist dressing, and antimicrobial alginate dressing have the effects of reducing wound pain, decreasing bleeding and fluid absorption, and especially reducing alginate and foam dressing change frequency. Patients are willing to accept this treatment, and some patients may see residual fibrous remnants on the wound, but they are easy to remove, and there are no adverse reactions. It does not irritate or damage the skin or mucous membranes, is cheap, easy to use, and has a simple method that can avoid damaging granulation tissue, saving nursing time, and has the characteristics of rapid effect and high cure rate. Patients and nurses are willing to accept it. The application of alginate in wound care has been clinically proven to reduce healing time and improve wound healing results, as well as reduce nursing workload to the satisfaction of patients.
Ⅰ. Treatment method for alginate AG dressing
Treatment group: First, the wound is flushed with saline, then use sterile forceps to remove the necrotic scab around the wound, and use hydrogen peroxide to remove inflammatory secretions. Rinse the wound again with saline, dry the wound with sterile gauze, cut out an alginate dressing slightly larger than the wound, and apply it to the wound while ensuring that it adheres completely to the skin, especially for patients with sacral ulcers. Finally, cut an appropriate size of dressing that matches the wound. If there are blisters, disinfect them first, and then use a syringe to remove the fluid from the lowest part of the blister.
Control group: After cleaning the wound, apply sterile petroleum jelly gauze to the wound, and cover it with a dressing.
Ⅱ. Observation indicators for alginate AG dressing
1. Healing time of the wound: The time from the start of care to complete healing. Complete healing is determined when there is no exudate on the ulcer surface, and the autologous surface cells expand and fuse into a sheet covering the wound.
2. Degree of pain: The pain is divided into four levels: level 0 indicates no pain, level 1 indicates mild pain, level 2 indicates moderate pain that can be tolerated, and level 3 indicates severe pain that is unbearable. The degree of pain before and after dressing changes is recorded.
3. Number of dressing changes: The number of dressing changes during the complete healing period.
4. Bleeding during dressing changes: The patient's probability of bleeding during dressing changes (if bleeding occurred once during the dressing change, the patient is considered to have bleeding during dressing changes).
Alginate AG dressing can shorten healing time, promote good wound healing, decrease the risk of bleeding during dressing changes, and reduce the number of dressing changes, as well as significantly reduce the degree of pain during dressing changes for patients with wounds that have a lot of exudate. Alginate AG dressing have significant clinical efficacy in wounds with a lot of exudate and are worth further promotion.
Alginate AG dressing belong to moisturizing dressings that create a moist healing environment for the wound. A moist healing environment can avoid exposing wound nerve terminals, dehydration, and the stimulation of certain inflammatory substances. It will not tear off new tissue when removed. In clinical work, it is found that to promote better wound healing, contaminated dressings should be changed in a timely manner. However, some non-transparent dressings cannot directly observe the wound, so when the dressing is blistered, it must be changed immediately. If there is no blistering, the dressing can be changed every two days. Alginate is suitable for wounds with a lot of exudate but is not suitable for wounds with large amounts of secretions or necrosis.
