Alginate Wound Dressing Definition

Alginate dressings can absorb up to 20 times their own weight for optimal wound healing.

Alginate wound dressing definition.

Alginates can be rinsed away with saline irrigation so removal of the dressing does not interfere with healing granulation tissue. Alginate dressings are extremely lightweight absorb many times their own weight form a gel like covering over the wound and maintain a moist environment. This makes dressing changes virtually painless. With infected wounds the wound bed should be inspected daily.

In general using an alginate dressing is a straightforward process that follows the best practices of wound care. As a highly absorbent wound care choice an individual alginate wound dressing can absorb up to 15 to 20 times its own weight which makes these dressings really work for excessively secreting wounds. Most of the time alginate dressings can be left unchanged for 5 7 days unless exudate capacity is reached. The alginate fibers are easily biodegradable and offer a moist environment that speeds up the healing process and helps with the formation of granulation tissue.

They are available through some drug stores and also through catalogs which sell medical supplies and they may be applied by nurses or. Various types of wounds can affect bedridden patients those with diabetes or those with chronic venous insufficiency. Alginate dressings are highly absorbent and suitable for use on exuding wounds and for the promotion of autolytic debridement of debris in very moist wounds. Alginate dressings maintain a physiologically moist microenvironment that promotes healing and the formation of granulation tissue.

An alginate wound dressing contains sodium and calcium derived from seaweed and come in the form of flat dressings. Alginate dressings have proven to be successful in cleansing a variety of secretions and their high absorbing power is due to the hydrophilic gel formation which subsequently minimizes the bacterial contamination of the wound. These dressings are used in the management of wounds which are producing a great deal of exudate such as deep sores. An alginate dressing is a wound dressing which contains alginate fibers derived from seaweed.

Alginate dressings also act as a haemostatic but caution is needed because blood clots can cause the dressing to adhere to the wound surface. They are best used for wounds with significant exudate. 26 they are biodegradable hydrophilic non adherent and highly absorbent. Alginate dressings are derived from seaweed made of soft non woven fibres and are available as pads ropes or ribbons.

When the insoluble calcium alginate of this type of dressing comes into contact with wound exudate a soluble sodium salt is produced. Alginate dressings consist of the soft non woven fibers of a cellulose like polysaccharide derived from the calcium salts of seaweed.