How is wound dressing done?
Dressing is a wound care applied to accelerate the healing of any wound and to protect it from infections. Dressing techniques can also vary according to the types of wounds. For example, burn dressing or ingrown hair dressing has its own characteristics. In this article, we tried to explain how you can dress simple wounds. You can use the search button of our website about wound care and dressing according to other wound types.
A dressing aims to clean and protect a wound. Therefore, before applying any dressing, wash and dry your hands and wear disposable surgical gloves, if available. This surgical glove should be sterile if possible.
Prepare your dressing ingredients ahead of time. Moving away to look for material while dressing may cause the wound to bleed or become infected by touching it.
As dressing materials, bring together materials such as scissors, sterile bandage, batikon or medical alcohol, forceps, scalpel, plaster, antibiotic pomades, and other drugs if you have any to apply to the wound. Place them on a clean and, if possible, sterile mat or container.
Make sure the person to be dressed is seated and calm. The dressing of a patient who is constantly moving and panicked will be challenging. Tell the patient what you are going to do and why you are doing it.
To do the dressing, sit yourself or take a comfortable position. If you are helping someone who is dressing, wait at a distance that will not complicate their job.
If the dressing area has been covered beforehand, pour medical alcohol on the adhesive plaster to soften it and after a few seconds, gently lift the patch by holding one end. This will both ensure that the patient does not suffer and that the tissues of the wound are not ruptured.
Once the wound is uncovered, first examine the wound site. Look at the width of the wound. Make sure that the materials you will use are sufficient for the width of the wound. Check for redness or inflammation on the wound. Wound healing tissue and inflammation are different from each other. Therefore, in case of doubt, consult your doctor.
Observe if there is any discharge from the wound. The discharge may also be in the form of inflammation or bleeding. In order for the inflammatory discharge to come out completely from the wound, gently squeeze the edges of the wound to allow it to drain completely. Continue until the bleeding is gone.
Cleanse any broken tissue or clothing from the wound. These are parts that can cause infection.
After making a rough cleaning of the wound, wipe and clean the wound by pouring medical alcohol liberally on the sterile bandage. While doing this cleaning, first start from the center of the wound and expand it in a circle to the outer edges. Clean the last wound by expanding it at least 5 cm. This will prevent the microorganisms in the outer area of the wound from being transported into the wound.
After cleaning the wound, dry it with a sterile gauze. Do not leave the wound wet.
If there is bleeding in the dressing area, stop the bleeding by pressing on the bleeding. For this, lift the area higher than the heart. Keep pressing on the bleeding area until the bleeding stops. If the bleeding has stopped, stop. Consult your doctor if the bleeding has not stopped.
Do not be alarmed as sometimes bleeding may continue in stitched wounds. Consult your physician. In some cases, re-stitching may be required. In some wounds, the physician may not completely cover an area of the wound. This is to leave an area for the inflammatory tissue inside the wound to come out easily. In some large wounds, your doctor will put a drain to allow the discharge to drain out more easily.
After cleaning the wound and controlling the bleeding, open the antibiotic creams or solutions that you will apply to the wound. In some wounds, it may be sufficient to use only an antibiotic cream. However, in some wounds, it may be necessary to pour antibiotic solutions into the wound. Use these drugs as recommended by your doctor. In many wounds, in addition to antibiotic creams or solutions, creams that accelerate wound healing are also used. While applying this cream or medication on the wound, start from the center and apply it in a circle outward.
You’ve reached the stage of closing the wound. Some wounds may need to be kept open after three days. It may be necessary not to close some wounds for a long time. Be sure to consult with your doctor whether the wound will be closed or how long it will remain closed.
Prepare a sterile gauze or sterile dressing pad suitable for the width of the wound and slightly larger to cover the wound. Make sure that the sterile bandage is not too thin or too thick. An average thickness of 0.5 cm will be sufficient. Cover the sterile bandage over the wound. You will need to cover the sterile bandage with a plaster to keep it stable. Be careful that the patch you will use will not cause allergies for the patient. Many patients may experience a plaster allergy. Use non-allergic plaster. Adhere the patch to the body a few centimeters outside of the sterile bandage. Make sure that the patch does not come off easily.
If the wound is on the arm, leg or fingers, it is covered with a sterile bandage. After covering the wound with a sterile bandage or dressing pad suitable for the size of the wound, cover the wound by wrapping several layers of sterile bandage around the finger. For arms or legs, do the same. Adhere the ends with a plaster so that the last bandage does not dissolve and fall apart. You can also use bonding or other material instead of gluing.
Wound dressing may require additional procedures depending on the type and size of the wound. For this, follow other wound type dressings in our articles.
Follow up the wound you are dressing well. Consult your doctor if pain, stinging, pins and needles or throbbing have started in the wound. If you detect a redness or discharge that you have not seen before while dressing the wound, consult your doctor.
Wound care will be a difficult process, so you need to be cool and calm. If this is your own wound, share the pain and stress you feel with a relative. Get support from them. If possible, try not to make your own wound dressing.