Wound Management
In this essay, I am going to discuss traditional and contemporary wound dressings and management techniques. I will be comparing the traditional dressings with today’s current modern dressing. When choosing a dressing many circumstances have to be accessed as what type of wound is it? This makes it a lot harder on which dressing should be used as there are so many different types available today. Many that are used in the veterinary practice are in fact used by humans.
When a wound is healing it is important to know the stages of healing so you can achieve the best possible outcome. Wound healing is the physiological process of restoring the continuity of tissues following injury. The two main processes are regeneration and repair. There are three stages of wound healing which include:
• Inflammatory (substrate) phase which occurs immediately
• Proliferative (repair) phase which occurs 3-7 days post injury
• Remodelling (maturation) phase which occurs 5-7 days following the initial injury
Each of these stages is critical for the final result. However, many factors can affect the wound healing stage such as contamination, host factors and the nature of the wound.
For effective wound management the appropriate dressing must be used to maintain the right wound environment. The types of wounds are as follows:
• Necrotic Wound: black or brown dead tissue that needs to be removed. As pictured below
• Sloughy Wound: yellow or white tissue that’s likely to be exudative. As pictured below.
• Granulating Wound: first stage of healing and looks like raw steak like tissue. This wound needs to be kept protected and in a moist environment. As pictured below.
• Epithelising Wound: pink healing tissue that moves across a bed of granulation tissue. This wound needs to be kept protected and in a moist environment. As pictured below.
Wound dressing play a vital role in the healing process. Appropriate dressing must be used to ensure the
When a wound is healing it is important to know the stages of healing so you can achieve the best possible outcome. Wound healing is the physiological process of restoring the continuity of tissues following injury. The two main processes are regeneration and repair. There are three stages of wound healing which include:
• Inflammatory (substrate) phase which occurs immediately
• Proliferative (repair) phase which occurs 3-7 days post injury
• Remodelling (maturation) phase which occurs 5-7 days following the initial injury
Each of these stages is critical for the final result. However, many factors can affect the wound healing stage such as contamination, host factors and the nature of the wound.
For effective wound management the appropriate dressing must be used to maintain the right wound environment. The types of wounds are as follows:
• Necrotic Wound: black or brown dead tissue that needs to be removed. As pictured below
• Sloughy Wound: yellow or white tissue that’s likely to be exudative. As pictured below.
• Granulating Wound: first stage of healing and looks like raw steak like tissue. This wound needs to be kept protected and in a moist environment. As pictured below.
• Epithelising Wound: pink healing tissue that moves across a bed of granulation tissue. This wound needs to be kept protected and in a moist environment. As pictured below.
Wound dressing play a vital role in the healing process. Appropriate dressing must be used to ensure the
References: • Cooper, E.Mullineaux and Turner, 2011. Bsava Textbook of Veterinary Nursing 5th edition. Gloucester, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, 1994. • J.Fletcher, 2006, Best Practice – choosing an appropriate antibacterial dressing, Nursing Times, Vol.102, pp.46. • http://www.dechra.co.uk/Files/dechra/Downloads/woundcare/modern-wound-management.pdf • http://www.dechra.co.uk/Therapy-Areas/Woundcare/Types-of-wound.aspx • http://www.dechra.co.uk/Therapy-Areas/Woundcare/Advanced-Wound-Management-Dressings/1.-Support-the-Wound-Healing-Process.aspx • Lecture Notes, Wound management, Week 12.